


Accompanied By Two

by iconicmorrison



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Begging, Crying, F/M, Female Reader, Fingerfucking, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, I Hate Hugo Vasquez, Jack being Jack, Jealousy, Lesbian Moms, M/M, Multi, NSFW, Name-Calling, Nicknames, Not Canon Compliant, Polyamory, Possessive Behavior, Praise Kink, Reader Has A Port Thingie Like Rhys, Slow Burn, Smut, Voice Kink, hologram jack, more tags will be added, you heard me reader has two moms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:01:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26777779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iconicmorrison/pseuds/iconicmorrison
Summary: AU where reader is a college student who tries to get data from Professor Nakayama's flash drive, and ends up with a holographic asshole (Jack) as a friend. Though she finds him interesting, the brown haired boy in her math class is very appealing...[This is an AU, so the timing doesn't align with canon timing! Things are switched around, and for some reason, now Vasquez is running Hyperion..? (y/n) is used for reader's first name, (l/n) is used for their last!]
Relationships: Handsome Jack & Rhys (Borderlands), Handsome Jack (Borderlands)/Reader, Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands), Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands)/Reader, Rhys (Borderlands)/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	1. Nausea

"Hyperion workers only beyond that door." A young woman stepped in front of you, cocking her head to the side.

You bit your tongue, knowing if you'd said what you wanted to, it'd be along the lines of ' _Hyperion fell apart when Helios crashed, dumbass._ ' It was always the young people that'd been hired for the company that were the snobbiest, and acted like they'd worked at Hyperion ages before Handsome Jack was killed. To be quite frank, it was annoying as hell.

"I was hired to do some part time stuff," You tried, really fighting back the urge to knock this woman out.

She only stuck her chest out and crossed her arms,"I don't believe that."

Oh Jesus fucking christ. What did it take to humble a woman in her twenties that just got hired on? You fished your ID out of your book bag and handed it to her, suggesting that she believe you.

"Look, i'm serious. I bet you my fucking student loans that i'm registered in the system." You grit your teeth.

The woman rolled her eyes, snatching your ID out of your hand faster than you'd be able to deck her. Even the way she walked back to her desk infuriated you. Her heels clicking, her skirt (which was way too tight, might you add. You could genuinely almost see _everything_ she had under there.) shifting as she strut to the table, god. Fucking Hyperion employees.

You weren't sure why they were all so snobby. When everything was being rebuilt Hyperion hired literally anyone they could, eager to get back to the top. It wasn't like they had to be interviewed by some big boss, or have certain qualifications. For fuck's sake, you were pretty sure that asshole Hugo Vasquez was running the company at the moment. Oh, to be as arrogant and cocky as him. Except, less weird...and less Vasquez-ey. 

That was the only way you'd been able to go to college--the fact that prices for everything had been lowered, and the people of Pandora knew shit was fucked. You initially didn't really want to go to college, the knowledge of the stress it would cause eating away at you. That is, until your parents told you they'd wanted you to go to college. Back before everything fell apart, they constantly told you education was important (which obviously wasn't true, look who's in charge now). As a Junior and Senior you rolled your eyes at them, telling them it was practically useless. 

That's when everything fell apart. Helios had crashed, apparently due to an AI getting into the system and messing things up. Nobody ever really cleared that up for you, who it was or why it was done. You shrugged it off, though, because honestly, weirder things had happened. While things were falling apart, you managed to grab an escape pod, being one of the first ones to leave. It scared you to death--being in that thing alone, drifting off and watching your planet literally crumble. 

What was even worse was when you landed. You'd looked for other people, and met many, but most of them were your average dumbasses, calling out for help. You'd searched for your parents forever, walking as far as your feet would take you, and asking every person you'd come across. That was when you learned that they hadn't made it out. You'd come across a vault hunter about your age , and asked about your parents. He'd taken you to a private spot and told you what happened.

They were looking for you before they started looking for a pod. 

They were too late. All of them were taken, or busted out. 

They were there when things crumbled.

It was your fault. They were looking for you.

When you asked this vault hunter how he knew all of this, he told you he'd talked to them. They insisted he take the last pod instead of one of them. Why, you weren't sure. The first time you heard this, you were infuriated. You threw punches at the damn guy. It was one of your parents or him, and he was the one here. Neither of your mothers. Him. 

You weren't even sure why he was on your planet in the first place.

You never talked to him again. Seeing him infuriated you. You'd make eye contact in public, and have to bite your tongue from screaming at him. 

"Hello? I said here's your ID. You're fine to go through the door." 

The young woman's voice shook you of your thoughts, her hand waving your ID in front of your face quickly. You snatched it (maybe even faster than she had), and gave a smile before continuing through the doors. Fucking Hyperion employees.

➸

"You'll be helping us sort through old Hyperion material, mostly coding that was scrapped or harmed during the fall," 

A young man spoke to you, waving around a flash drive as he explained what your job was. It had come to your attention that you'd been hired on so quickly because you had something others didn't--a port on the side of your head. Of course, many people had things of the sort, but not many of them applied for things like this. (There were always rumors that what they were really doing was 'plugging into your head and stealing your memories' anyway.) 

You nodded your head, trying your hardest to focus on what he was saying.

He waved the flash drive around for a moment before motioning it toward the side of his head, implying that you'd plug it into your port. You gave a thumbs up, but had one question. How were you supposed to relay this information? You weren't going to remember all of it after unplugging, so what did they expect of you?

"How do I relay this information?" You questioned, raising a brow in curiosity. 

He simply smiled and shook his head,"It's simple, really. You 'plug in' to whatever drive you're given, and with the ECHO we've provided you with, you'll jot down any important information. It's really a reflex once you're plugged in, don't worry. You won't have to take your time jotting things and such. A simple job, if you ask me," 

To that you could only nod, reaching out to take the flash drive from him gently. Oh boy, would this be interesting. 

➸

""...Can I go now?" You questioned, unplugging a flash drive from your port. 

The man sighed and shrugged his shoulders,"Yeah. Just one more, is that alright? We believe this one has some serious important coding in it." 

Oh what the hell, you might as well humor him and plug the damn thing into your head.

"Yeah, one more's fine," You smiled, tiredly nodding your head.

You'd been typing information on a document for the past three hours, and at this point, your fingers felt weird due to the amount of times you'd hit the holographic keys. He handed you the flash drive, this one being larger than the others, and...why was it decorated? Gently turning it over in your hand you examined it, noting the ombré from yellow to orange, and some small engraving on the bottom if it. It was hard to read, it'd obviously been damaged in the fall, the only thing readable being two large letters at the beginning of two different words--'P.N'. You were curious as to what it stood for, and ask you went to ask, the man that had handed you the flash drive shook his head.

"We don't know. Some of these flash drives were imported from different places, apparently everyone wanted to get in on this. Not sure what they're expecting considering we only value things that contain important data, buuuut..." 

He trailed off, chuckling to himself. 

You guessed that was the best explanation you'd get for anything that you'd read through within the past three hours, and proceeded with plugging the drive into your head. This time, though, it felt different.

It was a sudden hot flash that hit you, then you were freezing cold, as if you'd been thrown out of a vacuum into space. You could feel yourself typing things into the ECHO, though you weren't sure what exactly you were jotting down. It was weird, the way your vision went completely white. You saw flashes of different things, though you were able to make out the outline of some kind of siren, then you felt pain. Sadness. 

It was like you were feeling every emotion at once. You saw a red-haired woman for a moment, then felt hot. Extremely hot, as if your skin was melting off of your bones. 

Then it stopped. You could see again, and though you weren't sure why, the first thing you did was look down at the ECHO. You hadn't typed much, just things along the lines of 'sad. flashes of colors. hot, very hot. ow. ow. vision is white. i can't find any data. probably some excess coding that was tossed. nothing important.'

You audibly gasped as the flash drive was yanked from your head, the man standing in front of you looking concerned.

"Can you hear me? I've been saying your name. I think this is just a bunch of scrambled data," He tried, waving the drive in front of your face,"You were freaking out. Your hands were, I mean. They were twitching and stuff, your eyelids too."

Shaking your head you sighed, and let your hands rest in your lap. You knew this one had felt different, but it'd made your hands and eyes freak out? Could it have been a bug that was put in the drive on purpose? A virus maybe?

"It um...it wasn't a virus or anything, right? Cause I kinda need my brain to _not_ be scrambled." 

A very long pause, almost as if he was trying to think his way out of this one. You laughed internally at that, damn Hyperion worker didn't even know what to say, He inhaled deeply, then he spoke.

"There's no way it was a virus. We ran all of these through safety checks first," He nodded.

Honestly? You doubted that. Hyperion workers weren't exactly known for telling the truth and doing every job 'as it was to be done'. Virus or not, you wanted to get out of this place. Yeah, you were lazy, but being in a chair for three hours while typing away honestly wasn't as relaxing as you thought it'd be. You stood up slowly, pushing the seat away from the desk, then stretched, putting your arms above your head.

"Alright," You half-yawned,"Am I good to go?"

You only needed one nod from him before you picked up your belongings, and headed back to your dorm.

➸

It was late, and since you'd gotten all of your homework done, you settled on watching some TV and eating snacks. Well, you'd planned on eating snacks, yet they still sat on the couch next to you, untouched.

You knew you were hungry. You didn't get to eat at all during your classes today, partially due to the amount of work you'd been given, and partially due to the amount of sleeping you'd done during your classes. You were starving.

But for some reason, you couldn't eat. Just looking at the snacks was enough to make you get nauseous, and god, did you hate it. Racking your mind for reasons that would cause said nausea was doing no good, you honestly didn't know why you were feeling like this. Sure, some weird dude in your math class had tried to ask for your number (in a VERY disturbing and creepy way, might you add), and yeah, you'd gotten an F on your most recent test in said math class, but you didn't think either of those things would be enough to upset your stomach _this_ much. 

What had you been doing differently this past week? Well, you'd started trying to eat healthier, and you'd drank this one weird smoothie from your college's cafeteria, what else?

...Oh, duh. You'd gotten that part time job. You mentally smacked yourself for forgetting about it, shaking your head. You decided to call the place you'd gone into, really hoping that snobby secretary wouldn't be the one to pick up the phone. Maybe they knew why you were feeling nauseous?

"Hi! This is (y/n) (l/n), I came in today to help out with sorting information from those flash drives?" You explained, trying your hardest to put on a friendly voice.

You weren't exactly feeling too friendly at the moment, you wanted to puke your guts out.

"Oh the college kid? What can I help you with?" A woman's voice snickered into the receiver.

So it was the secretary from earlier. Just fucking great. Hearing that snobby voice of hers through the phone was almost enough to make you hang up right then and there. But you wanted answers. 

"Yeah, the college student. Listen, i'm feeling really really nauseous. Does that sort of thing usually happen to other participants?" You asked, snuggling up in your blanket.

You slowly closed your eyes and leaned your head back against the small couch, listening to her irritating voice.

"I don't know."

You inhaled deeply, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of your nose. Oh, the things you wanted to yell into your phone right now.

"Okay. Sorry for bothering you. Goodnight." You spat, hanging up the phone before she even had time to hang it up herself. 

What a bitch. She literally works at the place, and can't even tell you if she's aware of other participants experiencing nausea? Though you hadn't assumed much when you'd called, it was Hyperion after all. Saying that even to yourself was still weird. 

Both of your parents had worked for the large company, so you'd grown up thinking Hyperion was top of the line. Which, in it's prime, aka before Helios fell, it was. Nobody fucked with Hyperion, even if Handsome Jack was gone. Just the company itself was intimidating, though having a borderline psychopath running things always made it a little more intimidating. Speaking of Jack, you'd never met him. When you were younger you used to watch the short video's he'd put out for advertising new weapons and such, amazed at how much he resembled a perfect poster-boy. 

You weren't sure whether it was the heterochromic eyes that always pulled you in, or the way he spoke, full of sarcasm and pride. He knew he was in charge of the best damn planet in the universe, who wouldn't sound proud when they were given that information?

Nonetheless, you'd always sit and watch, listening to the things he'd say. Your mothers were never too fond of him, though technically they worked for him, so they kept their mouths shut. It was only during family dinners that they'd speak up if they heard his voice coming from a TV in another room, advertising some weapon or over-priced junk.

They'd always said they didn't agree with how he handled things, though he was great at running a company. Younger you never understood the meaning of that, how could they disagree with him and like him at the same time?

Growing up, you answered that question for yourself. He was great at keeping people in line, and making sure orders went through. The speed at which things would get done was absolutely incredible, though the only way things got done that quickly was due to him being a homicidal maniac. Now, you understood. Your parents had loved the business he was bringing Hyperion, the sales and all, but they didn't like that he would kill almost anyone who disagreed with him.

Honestly, you agreed with your parents. Sitting there, alone on your small couch, you nodded to yourself, mentally agreeing with the points they had made. 

'Handsome Jack' wasn't too great of a person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! thank you so much for reading the first chapter! i've had this idea cooking up in my noggin for quite some time, so writing it out should be interesting! i'm currently attending school, so updates might be spaced out a bit, but should never take too long. let me know what you think/give constructive criticism/let me know if i've made any grammatical errors!


	2. Holographic Asshole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're feeling nauseas, and are unable to make it to your classes, so you opt on spending your day in your dorm, relaxing. That is, until an unexpected event occurs.

Your blaring alarm woke you, jostling you from the dream you'd been having, though now, you couldn't even remember what it was about. You rubbed your eyes tiredly, letting out a quiet yawn before sitting up. Turned out to be a bad idea.

As soon as you sat up, your head began pounding. It was worse than it had been the night prior, immediately making you lay back down. You took a moment to just breathe, trying your hardest to not get sick. Taking a look around, you could see that you'd fallen asleep on the couch last night, your discarded food now laying on the ground. Huh. You must've kicked it off of the couch in your sleep. 

You decided you'd try at least one more time to get up, you were paying for these college classes after all. One, two, three--

You sat up, closing your eyes and rubbing your temples. Maybe the tension would let off if you took some medicine? Yeah, that was probably a good thing to do. It was weird having to take care of yourself. Usually one of your mothers would be right beside you, taking your temperature, asking if you wanted or needed anything. Things were rough without them. Just part of growing up, you supposed.

Though growing up would be a lot easier if you still had both of your parents, or even one of them. You shrugged it off and took your time standing up, your legs wobbling beneath you as you used the couch for support. You could make it to your kitchen, then take some ibuprofen, and everything would be fine. Then you could go to class, because you were paying for college damn it, you were gonna learn shit.

So off you set, one foot in front of the other on your way to your small kitchen. You eventually made it, having to stop a few times and take deep breaths. If walking to your kitchen was a struggle, would you really be able to make it around campus?

...Probably not. You decided you'd rather do your work from the comfort of your couch than try and drag yourself across campus. Making a mental note to email your teachers ahead of time you stopped at your kitchen counter, searching your small medicine cabinet for some ibuprofen. Then again, what if medicine didn't fix it? What if it was whatever was in that flash drive messing with your brain? 

You honestly hoped you were being irrational, the worker had said they'd all been ran through some security check, right..? Even if you didn't completely trust him, you still had to have some faith.

You popped open the medicine cap and took a single pill, genuinely hoping you would start feeling better soon. Because if not, then you'd start freaking out. You really didn't want your brain to be scrambled, you wanted to pass this year, and with decent grades at least. Sighing, you set the medicine back into it's respective cabinet, shutting it gently. Sure, you didn't have a roommate, but you also didn't want to disturb the dorms next to you.

You rubbed your eyes tiredly before leaning your head down onto the cool surface of the counter, the pleasant chill somehow toning down your headache. Closing your eyes you took in a deep breath, trying to sort out what you'd do if this thing was messing with your brain.

**"Damnit, how the fuck-"**

You looked up, glancing around quickly. That definitely wasn't your voice, and it definitely wasn't anyone that was going to this college's voice, though it did sound familiar. It was deep, and made you feel nostalgic. 

Nobody was in your dorm with you, right? There was no way. You shook your head and rolled your eyes, you were probably just freaking out. Then you heard it again.

**"Almosttt..aha!"**

You heard briefly, before feeling a surge of energy flow throughout you, then your vision went blurry for a moment. You blinked multiple times, rubbing your eyes to try and clear your vision. You could see what looked like...someone standing in front of you? How was that possible? 

Shaking your head slightly, your vision cleared, allowing you to fully see what, or _who_ was standing in front of you.

**"Uhh, where am I? And why the hell am I a hologram?"**

Right in front of you stood the man that had lead Hyperion to the top all those years ago, the homicidal maniac that stopped at nothing to get his way. Handsome fucking Jack was standing in front of you, talking directly to you. You were speechless, your eyes practically popping out of your head. Was this a dream? Had you passed out due to your headache? Were you laying on your kitchen floor right now? 

**"Hellooo..? Gonna answer me cupcake?"**

"I...yeah. What the fuck?" You spat, tilting your head to the side. 

He looked almost exactly like you'd remembered him, wearing all those layers he had years ago, with those god awful sneakers. The only difference was that he was...a hologram. All blue and see-through. Why, you weren't sure. How, you weren't sure either. Huh, neither of you were sure of anything. 

**"That's what i'm sayin' kiddo."** He chuckled, tilting his head the same way you had.

His voice was almost normal, but sounded amplified in your head, each syllable bouncing from one ear to another. It wasn't very pleasant. Your shrugged your shoulders before looking around, trying to make sure you weren't dreaming. How could this be real? Is this what was in that flash drive? Was that possible?

"I uh...I don't know why you're a hologram. But like, you're real and all? I'm not dreaming?" You asked, stepping closer to him.

He shook his head slowly, taking a step closer to you. Being this close to him felt...weird. Foreign. As a child, you'd only seen him on big screens, and heard his voice echo throughout Helios. Now, he was standing right in front of you-err-sorta.

**"Nope. You're wide awake. Why'd ya ask? Oh, oh! Is this one of those 'oh my god it's Handsome Jack!' moments? Huh? Is it?"** He asked, raising his voice when imitating you.

...Was he serious? You honestly couldn't tell if he was just fucking with you or not.

"...No. It's not. This is a 'how the fuck am I seeing Handsome Jack when he died all those years ago' moment," You replied, quirking a brow at him.

He gave a quick laugh before pausing, and looking around the room. His gaze seemed nervous, that was new. You'd never seen him like this before.

**"I'm...dead? No, that has to be a mistake. I'm not dead, i'm right friggin' here,"** He motioned to himself with his hands, as if he was trying to convince you.

Despite his words you knew that he'd died, meeting his fate in the hands of Lilith, a vault hunter that just so happened to be a siren. Him motioning toward himself was obviously him trying to believe himself. He didn't want to be dead, but he was.

Seeing _the_ Handsome Jack look worried was...a trip, to say the least. He'd always appeared loud and proud, that cocky smirk on his face as he rambled on about how his company was the best out there. Now, he looked scared, and worried. Did he not remember dying? Would he remember anything?

**"Wait wait, if i'm a hologram, and what I was seeing was you getting all 'bleughh' this morning, then that means--"** He cackled, exaggerating the childish noise of throwing up as he waved his hands in the air, **"That means _I_ was the one makin' you sick! Ohh my god, that's too good," **

He wiped a tear from his eye, laughing to himself about messing with your nerves. Honestly, you hadn't expected anything less from him. He just seemed like the kind of guy to laugh at other people's pain. And--did he say he could see you feeling sick this morning? How was that possible? How long had he been able to see what you were doing? 

God, this was confusing.

"Jack, err--sir? What the fuck am I supposed to call you, first of all," You crossed your arms, raising a brow toward him.

Hearing his name come from your lips was a pleasant surprise, though his eyebrows raised when you'd called him 'sir'. Hm. The people of Helios had always referred to him as 'sir', nobody ever called him by his first name. That in itself was a death wish, which made you wonder if you'd just upset him. Considering the way things were, you had no idea if he was actually capable of harming you. That was enough to make you shiver. 

**"Aww how sweet, you sound just like one of those cooperate lackeys on Helios,"** He cooed, chuckling a bit, **"Jack. Just call me Jack, _god_ you have no idea how many times I just wanted to punt someone for calling me 'sir'. Like, yeah, at first it's all good, cause ya know, it's professional or whatever. But jesus, one time is enough," ** He complained, raising his hands into the air to really get his point across.

You smiled a bit, chuckling,"Just one time? I thought you'd like having lackeys suck up to you,"

You rolled your eyes while talking, remembering the way younger you pictured Handsome Jack. You guessed he'd be sarcastic and cocky all the time, and boy did he look like he'd appreciate suck ups. Hey, you were only a kid then, so what did you know?

**"...You've gotta be kidding me. Suck ups are the _worst_. 'I need your signature here sir!', 'what about my raise sir?'" ** He mocked, changing the tone of his voice for each different imitation.

You laughed at his words, watching him roll his eyes and shake his head. Who knew a homicidal maniac could be a little funny? Certainly not you. He smiled a bit hearing you laugh, and oh goodness, did that give you goosebumps. You knew you shouldn't be fawning over a holographic version of Handsome Jack, but holy hell, even when he wasn't physically in front of you (or...touchable? You didn't know still) he was attractive. 

That being said, you really didn't feel like standing here while talking with him (if you really weren't dreaming), so you walked around him, heading back to your couch. Sure, he might be holographic, and yeah, it was tempting to see if you could walk through him, but you were sure he'd have a massive hissy fit if you tried. Lifting your hand in the air, you motioned for him to follow you.

You plopped down on the couch quickly, snuggling back up to your blanket. He strolled over to you leisurely, his gaze wandering around your dorm. He seemed to be interested in all of the various Hyperion posters you'd hung up on the walls, and the small picture of you and your parents that you'd framed. Did he remember them? Your parents had never said they'd met to him, or even talked to him over an ECHO, but maybe he'd seen them around or something. You'd have to ask.

It took him a moment, but after giving a small smirk at the poster you had of _him_ hanging up, (which was very small in your defense, and you'd _only_ hung it up because it was somewhat nostalgic) he made his way over to your couch, sitting next to you. And holy shit, was it weird. You scooted toward your end more, trying to give him more room, or maybe get a bit farther away from him. 

**"Scared, are we?"** He chuckled.

You shook your head,"What? No--listen, _Jack_ ," You paused, putting emphasis on using his name,"You said you could see me this morning?"

You wanted to ask him _just how long were you able to see me_ but you decided against it, because he'd probably end up asking some weird question.

**"Yup. I dunno how. I kept tryin' to like, figure out what was going on, and oh man, when I realized what exactly was happening, I laughed so fuckin' bad,"** He laughed, closing his eyes for a moment.

Aaand there was the answer to your internal question of how helpful he was going to be. The answer? Not helpful. At all.

"And what exactly is happening? I'm literally lost here," You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. 

**"Ohh right. I remember talkin' to some scientist for a while, real weirdo, I mean seriously, he was obsessed with me. But then again, who isn't?"** He mused for a moment, flashing you a cocky smile before continuing, **"Anyway, he said somethin' about some way to preserve me or whatever after I died. I wasn't listening to him too much, I don't really like all that scientific bullshit. I guess you somehow got ahold of whatever he was storing me in annnnd...badaboom badabing Handsome friggin' Jack's in your head! Pretty cool, huh kiddo?"**

Oh. That was...a lot to take in. What exactly had you gotten ahold of that was able to transfer him in whatever state he was in to your brain? And out of all people, why did it have to be you to end up with him? 

"Oh." Was all you said, the sound quiet, almost so quiet he couldn't hear it. 

**"Yup."** Was all he replied with, his gaze lingering on your shocked expression. 

If what he was saying was true, how had nobody figured it out yet? Why was he still trapped in whatever you'd gotten him from? Could other people see him? 

Asking yourself all these questions made your head hurt even more, so you opted for asking him one.

"Can you hold your hand out?" You asked genuinely.

He raised a brow, that cocky smirk showing up on his face, **"Woah woah, i'm not holdin' hands with some Handsome Jack obsessed young woman, mmkay?"**

You sighed, of course that's what he'd say. Could he not be full of himself for one minute? Probably not.

"Okay, two things. One, i'm not 'Handsome Jack obsessed'. If you're referring to that little poster I have hanging up, it's because it reminds me of my childhood. And two, I don't wanna hold your hand, you creep. I'm trying to test something out." You replied.

His jaw dropped in exaggeration, **"Did you just call me a creep? Are you fuckin' serious? Me? A creep? Oh honey, you've never met half of Helios, have you?"** He snickered.

Helios? Did he remember the crash? if that was the case, why was he referring to it like Helios was still up and running present tense? 

...Okay, even if he didn't know, right now probably wouldn't be the best time to tell him. After all, he was inside of your head, and you had no idea just what he could do. Also, angering an already pissed off Handsome Jack probably wasn't a good idea. You'd tell him later. For now, you wanted him to cooperate with you.

You rolled your eyes,"Come on dude. I'm serious."

After a short huff of annoyance from him he slowly lifted his hand up, holding it out for you to touch. Alright, here goes nothing.

You slowly moved your hand toward his, and though you didn't realize it, you were hoping you'd feel some kind of warmth. Why? You weren't sure. Maybe you just missed physical affection, maybe it was because it was fucking Handsome Jack that was sitting next to you. Both were valid reasons.

Just as your hands met and you expected warmth, your hand phased through his, a cold chill setting off goosebumps throughout your body.

**"What...the fuck...just happened."**

You waited for a moment, trying to rationalize what was going on. He was holographic in every way, meaning he couldn't be physically touched. Interesting.

"You're a hologram, Jack. That means you can't be touched, or touch anyone," You explained, lifting your palm and looking at it.

Nothing had changed, though you hadn't really expected anything to.

**"Yeah blah blah blah, but my frickin' hand just--it's like it's not there! Did'ya see that?"** He asked, his eyes going wide.

You laughed quietly, enjoying the shocked expression on his face,"Yes, very sharp observational skills Jack. Now tell me, what else can you see?" You teased.

He made a slight pouty face, his gaze going toward the floor.

**"Ya know what? Fuck you. A man can't even be surprised that he's a frickin' GHOST! A ghost! What is it with you people?"** He grumbled.

You weren't quite sure what he meant by 'you people', but you let it slide. Probably something about the people of Helios. 

"You're not a ghost. You're a hologram," You tried.

For some reason you wanted to comfort him, though you weren't sure why. You hadn't even realized it at the moment.

**"Same thing, and you know it cupcake,"** He shrugged, narrowing his eyes at you.

For your sake, you really hoped you were dreaming, because putting up with _this_ all the time was definitely not on your list of things you wanted to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo <3 sorry this chapter's shorter than the last, i'm trying to juggle work, writing, and school all at once. it gets a bit hard at times, but don't worry ! i promise i'll keep updating :)


	3. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a brief argument on whether ghosts and holograms are the same thing, you and Jack have a conversation which fills him in on what's happened since his death. You get an unexpected visit from the brown haired boy in your math class, and while attempting to do your homework, you end up questioning yourself.

Pinching the bridge of your nose you sighed,"A ghost and a hologram are two different things, Jack,"

**"Uhhh...nope. Both spooky and see-through, can only be seen by one person, and--wait. D'ya think other people can see me?"** He froze for a moment, obviously in thought.

Sure, you thought it would be exciting if others _could_ see him, but the look on his face right now was telling you he had something different in mind. Something probably meant to harm someone. And if you knew anything about Handsome Jack (which, you didn't know much, but everyone who hears the guy's name knows what he's done) you knew he was probably thinking up some master plan to fix everything and put Helios back together.

Aaand then is when you remembered that he had yet to find out about the crash, as well as his death. Well, you'd partially told him about his death earlier in the kitchen, but you had a feeling he hadn't really grasped that. Should you tell him? What would he say?

**"You spacin' out again cupcake? I asked you a question,"** He waved his hand in front of your face, his eyebrows raised in amusement.

You shook your head slightly, before turning once more to look him in the eyes,"I don't think anyone else can see you. If you really were in one of those flash drives or whatever, only the people that had access to it and used it like I did would be able to see you. And as of now, i'm the only one," 

He crossed his arms, his gaze slowly moving to the side of your head to where your port was.

**"Ahh. You got one of those little port thingies huh?"** He spoke, genuine curiosity showing itself in his voice.

Nodding your head you looked away a bit, his gaze growing more intimidating with each passing second. Then he moved forward, pointing his finger toward the device in the side of your head. He looked like a little kid reaching for candy, the way he kept leaning forward, trying to touch it. Why did he want to touch it so bad?

You pulled away quickly, crossing your arms,"Nope. No touch," You motioned toward the side of your head, meeting his gaze once again.

**"Aww come on, don'tcha wanna know what happens when a holographic version of Handsome Jack touches your weird port thing? C'monn, I know you dooo,"** He tried, reaching forward once again.

You chuckled a bit at the sing-song tone of his voice before pulling away again and shaking your head. Your nerves were fried currently as it was, you really didn't want Jack to touch your port and probably make it a shit ton worse.

"I really don't," You chuckled, watching him slowly lower his hand in defeat.

He crossed his arms like a child, **"You are so ungrateful, ya know that? Any other person on this damn planet would be bouncing off the walls if I wanted to touch their port-thingy,"**

You laughed at what he said, then paused. What planet was he referring to? Did he seriously not remember the crash?

"Jack, what planet do you think we're on?" You asked, snuggling up into your blanket.

Sure, it wouldn't protect you from him, but it made you feel more secure. Besides, could he really hurt you at the moment? That was an interesting thought. He obviously had the ability to mess with your nerves, he knew that himself. What else could he do?

**"Umm...Helios? What other planet would we be on right now dum dum?"** He laughed quietly, his gaze shifting from spot to spot in your decorated dorm.

Oh. So he didn't recall the crash. 

"We're on Pandora." You spoke, pulling your knees up to your chin.

His gaze paused on a poster of Helios you'd hung up, then met yours. He quirked a brow, confusion written all over his face.

**"Pandora? Why? Wait--please don't tell me you willingly live on this shit-hole of a planet."** He laughed, obviously finding his words more funny than you did.

You sighed, averting your gaze,"Helios fell. That's why i'm here. That's why we're all here,"

He abruptly stood up, clenching his fists. You'd expected him to get mad, you just hoped he wouldn't try anything funny.

**"Fell? What the hell do you mean fell? That--that doesn't just happen!"** He exclaimed.

You shrunk a bit at the bite in his words,"It fell. I don't know exactly how, something about...an AI..." You trailed off, your gaze resting on his face.

Was it him? Was he the reason Helios fell? If that was the case, why was he acting like he didn't remember it? Was he just playing dumb?

**"...Why're you lookin' at me like that kid? I dunno what the hell you're thinking, but it wasn't me."** He spoke, crossing his arms defensively.

You didn't believe him, but figured it would be better to play along. You'd already pissed him off enough.

"Okay, it wasn't you. But Helios fell, crashed into Pandora, and now we're here." You explained.

He began to pace around the room, growing angrier, **"And what the hell was I doing then? Where was I?"**

Where was he?

"Dead."

**"Dead? I fucking died? How?"**

Your memory surged with the images you saw while reading a flash drive, connecting the dots. You'd seen Jack when he died. You felt what he felt.

"I don't know the exact details. A siren named Lilith was the one to kill you. Something hot...a volcano maybe? Or a fire?" You tried.

He rolled his eyes, **"Oh what are you now, a fortune teller? Just tell me how I fuckin' died."**

Now you knew what everyone meant when they said he was arrogant. 

"I'm trying, Jack!" You angrily spoke, trying your hardest to recall those images,"I don't know how, but when I put that flash drive into my port, I saw your death. It's like I felt what you did. It was so hot, so fucking hot, it hurt," You began tearing up out of frustration.

**"Okay okay. So it was hot, and Lilith was there. Can't believe a fucking vault hunter killed me,"** He mused, **"I mean, are you sure it's not all a big misunderstanding? Like, I didn't die some other way? Cause I _know_ I wouldn't let a fucking vault hunter get to me."**

Shaking your head slowly, you wiped your eyes,"I'm sure. Everyone knows you're dead. Otherwise Vasquez wouldn't be running Hyperion at the moment,"

At the mention of the man's name Jack's eyebrows raised, like he recognized it. Did he remember Hugo? You honestly would feel a little bad if he did. Everyone would be better off forgetting that they knew the man.

**"I know that name, hm...Vasquez...Vasquez...gah! Where do I know him from?"** His fingers came up to his chin, as if he was in deep thought.

"He used to work in--"

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

The knocks startled you, not phasing Jack at all. You jumped a bit, your brow raising as you wondered who would be at your door right now. You weren't expecting anyone, so...who was it?

Slowly you got off of your couch, wrapping your blanket over your shoulders as you walked toward your door. You took a deep breath before opening it, ignoring Jack as he walked with you, standing beside the door. Apparently, he wanted to see who it was also.

Opening the door, you were greeted by a boy you recognized from your math class, but couldn't recall his name. You took a moment to take in his appearance, his chestnut hair slicked back, a few strands sticking out in the front. He had two different colored eyes, and it briefly crossed your mind that one of them looked like an ECHOeye. Hm.

"Hi?" You greeted him in question, watching Jack step outside next to the boy out of your peripheral vision.

He smiled slightly, lifting a stack of papers toward you,"Hey, I was asked to bring you some stuff since you missed today,"

His voice was soothing, a small smile spreading across his face. You'd only talked to him about two times in your math class, usually asking for a pencil or some extra paper. 

You took the papers gratefully, giving him a small smile in return,"Oh, thank you!"

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Jack eyeing him, crossing his arms. His eyes went from the papers he'd handed you, to the side of his head. Why did he seem so interested in this boy? Was there something special about him?

"It's no problem," He smiled, watching you look through the papers.

Geez, how much did you miss today? You'd guessed around five hours of work just looking at the stack of paper.

The boy stood there for several more moments, his soft gaze meeting yours. You weren't sure why he was still standing there...maybe he had something else for you?

"Um...is there anything else you needed me for?" You asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

**"What a fuckin' dweeb,"** Jack laughed from beside him, obviously uncomfortable by the awkward silence as well.

The boy paused for a moment, slightly shaking his head before speaking,"No, sorry. I'll see you in class," He smiled, turning around and walking off.

You watched him walk away, noting the slight pink flush on his face. Hm. What a weird visit. Turning back around, you shut the door behind you, making sure Jack walked in before you'd closed it. Sure, you could've shut it and watched him walk through it, but...it felt odd. You felt as if he was an actual person, physically standing in front of you. You weren't sure why.

➸ 

"Goddamnit," You huffed, flipping to the next page of class work that you'd missed.

You were on hour three of trying to complete it all, making mental notes to go through most of it again and study, just incase your math professor wanted to give you a pop quiz. 

Math had never been a stellar subject for you. You weren't dumb as a box of rocks, but it was difficult. You could do the basic stuff, but once imaginary numbers and shit got added, it'd only gone downhill from there. You'd always made an effort to try extra hard in whatever math class you were taking. Your parents were always strict on you about that.

You laughed quietly to yourself, remembering the days where they'd get on you if you had a missing assignment, or you did bad on a test. You missed those days. You'd give anything to have them back. 

Jack had left you alone once he saw you were studying, he claimed he 'wasn't interested in that bull crap' and faded away. You weren't exactly sure what he was doing now, probably some weird shit that AI's do? Was he even an AI? Or was it genuinely him? Gah, it was confusing. 

This whole situation happened so fast, you didn't get time to process what exactly was going on. That's when you dropped your pencil, and your eyes went wide. Handsome Jack was genuinely in your head. You had talked to him. 

Of course, this realization only brought on more questions. Could he hurt you? _Did he want to hurt you?_ Did anyone else have something similar to this in their head? There was only one way you could get answers, and you knew that. You'd have to call the place you'd been working for. 

You quickly called them, dozens of questions floating around in your head. You couldn't sound crazy over the phone, because then they'd stop paying you to come back. 

And what sounded crazier than Handsome Jack being in your head? 

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Hello?" A voice picked up, thankfully not the bitchy secretary you'd talked to yesterday.

You paused for a moment, trying to figure out what you were going to say, before speaking,"Hi! This is (y/n) (l/n), and i'm calling to ask a few questions,"

You heard a quiet sigh, then they spoke,"Alright, what questions do you have?"

Okay, what the hell were you gonna ask? You couldn't just ask 'so does everyone in this program have an AI of Handsome Jack in their head orr..'

"I still feel nauseous from two days ago, is that normal? I just wanna make sure my brain isn't going crazy or something," You laughed a bit.

**"Nausea? Is that what you're calling me now?"** Jack's voice echoed in your head, his glowing blue form appearing next to you.

You looked at him briefly before shaking your head, and chuckling a bit.

"It's completely normal," The person on the other end spoke,"Many people feel nauseas for several days due to the intake of tons of information."

You sighed a breath of relief,"Oh thank goodness,"

A pause, then more talking.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" They asked.

Apparently Jack could hear them, as right after they asked their question, he raised an eyebrow, curious as to what you were going to say.

You thought it over for a moment. What would they say if you told them what was going on? Would they think you're crazy? Probably. Either that, or they'd believe you, and want to split your brain up and try to find where Jack's AI was hiding. Honestly, it just sounded like a Hyperion thing to do. You didn't really like either of those options. 

"Not really. Thank you," You spoke softly before hanging up, turning to look at Jack.

**"So you didn't tell them, huh?"** He asked.

You shook your head, averting your gaze. If he was going to try and do some weird guilt trip thing on you, you wouldn't let it work.

"No, I didn't. I mean, what happens if I do, Jack?" 

He paused for a long moment, before sitting on the table to your left, and kicking his feet like a child.

**"I dunno. They'd think you're batshit crazy probably,"** He laughed.

You couldn't help but chuckle a bit knowing he was right.

**"Doesn't mean you can't try to tell 'em, though,"** He suggested, turning to keep his eyes on you.

Shaking your head you hummed, thinking about what he'd said. Could you really even try? You were pretty sure you were going to sound crazy no matter what. In the end, Jack probably just wanted to get back on top. Was he really even thinking about what would happen to you?

"I can't. If they really do end up believing me, they're gonna want to split open my head and try to get you out of it..." You trailed off, your eyes meeting his.

It was a wonder that you could still differentiate each of his eyes in the holographic form he was in. You could never decide which one to look at, they were both so pretty. You'd always watched him as a child, absolutely amazed at his two different colored eyes. Younger you had wished you could be like that, and you came to the conclusion that yeah, it still looked pretty kick-ass. 

He was deep in thought, though he was still staring at you. You took the time to appreciate how genuinely gorgeous this man was, homicidal maniac or not. His words startled you, a small smile spreading across his lips as he gently nodded his head.

**"Mm, probably."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello ! i hope you enjoyed this chapter :) i'm trying to update this as often as i can. As always, please let me know if you see any grammatical errors!


	4. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack follows you around campus all day, and essentially throws a hissy fit because you talk to a boy your age. Later you return to your part time job, and while Jack knows all of your attention is on him, he says something that really flusters you.

It had been a rough morning. You'd hit snooze on your alarm three times, and after telling yourself repeatedly that you'd already missed one day, you didn't need to miss two, you got up, and ate. Jack had left you alone all morning, only making an appearance while you ate your breakfast, greeting you with a simple,

**"Mornin' cupcake,"**

You'd only replied with a small wave, and he'd left, figuring you were still trying to wake up. Sure, he was a dick sometimes, but he could be a considerate dick. 

You'd left for your classes on time, finding your math class rather quickly. Jack had materialized beside you at some point, but never said anything, his gaze lingering on the passing students. You took your seat after (trying to) mentally prepare yourself for the class, setting your bag next to you on the ground. Jack had made all sorts of comments about the students walking in, specifically laughing,

**"There's that kid from yesterday! Man, what a weirdo,"**

A quiet mumble left you, the noise of the classroom making it easier to talk to Jack without looking crazy,"Be nice. He brought me my papers," You smiled to yourself.

Jack began to retaliate, stopping as your professor started the lecture. You'd taken notes to the best of your ability, really hoping to get your math grade up sometime soon. You knew your parents would probably be disappointed if they were able to see your grade now. An F...yikes. You tried your hardest to pay attention to the lecture, though it was hard with Jack literally looking over your shoulder at your paper. Why was he interested in this shit anyway? Weird.

**"Hey, kiddo, ya know I can hear what you're thinking, right? And honestly, calling me weird is _not_ very nice."**

He could _what_? Could he really hear what you were thinking? Or did he just take a wild guess at what you were thinking and get it right? Oh god, if he really could hear what you were thinking, then that means yesterday, when you were fawning over him while he sat on your kitchen table, he--

**"Yup. Can't say I blame you, though,"** He smirked.

Suddenly your face felt all too hot, and you knew the blush on your face was visible. How embarrassing could this get? You heard him chuckle lightly into your ear, before taking a step backwards, giving you space. 

Aaand now seemed like a _really_ good time to focus on the lecture! That way Jack wouldn't know everything else you were thinking, and you wouldn't expose yourself anymore. Great idea.

Your attention was turned back to the lecture, and though you'd missed two slides, you tried your hardest to keep yourself on track. If you got a bad grade on this next test, you knew who you were blaming. 

➸

The rest of your day had been easy, aside from Jack cracking a joke about every five minutes. He genuinely almost made you laugh out loud in your fine arts class, though you managed to keep yourself together. After returning to your dorm and attempting to study for thirty minutes, you came to the conclusion that you just couldn't study here. It was too quiet, especially with Jack talking to either you, or himself every five minutes. 

The library would be your escape! Yeah, it was quiet, but the whispers and chatter of the other students there would be great background noise, and hopefully Jack would realize that you actually had to study, because you didn't want to pay for a math class and not pass it.

And so you made your way to the library, stopping once to order an ice water from your school's café. After finding a good table to sit at in the library, you laid out your notes and the assignment you'd been given, trying to focus on both of them at once somehow. It was so frustrating, the notes looked nothing like the assignment. Well, maybe some of them did, but you didn't get them copied down due to a certain _holographic asshole._

After figuring out one problem you congratulated yourself, taking a small sip of your ice water and looking around. There were many other students occupying the seats of the library, though most of them came here just because it was something to do rather than sit in a dorm for the rest of the night. Looking back down you sighed, and picked up your pencil. Here we go. One more, you can do this!

...Except you couldn't. You'd been trying for the past ten minutes to try and figure out how to even start the damn problem.

"God damnit." You whispered to yourself, closing your eyes and resting your fingers on the bridge of your nose. 

A soft voice entered your ears, coming from your right.

"Um, are you okay?"

It startled you a bit, your eyes opening quickly to see just who was talking to you. You found it was the boy from your math class that had brought you your papers yesterday, your gaze lingering on his one blue eye.

You shrugged your shoulders,"As okay as I can be with failing a math class."

He raised an eyebrow,"I can try to teach you the stuff you missed," He tried.

You laughed quietly and nodded your head, pulling the seat next to you out,"Sure, knock yourself out."

He took you up on the offer, sitting in the chair and pulling himself closer to the table. You handed him your paper, sighing as he read through it. It was only for a brief moment, but his blue eye lit up, as if he was scanning the paper you'd just given him. So your assumption from earlier was right, it was an ECHOeye. You took the time to observe him, watching the way he absentmindedly bit his lip as he read through your work. You found him rather cute, watching him run his fingers through his already slicked-back hair. 

**"Woahh woah pumpkin. You let this guy sit next to you?"** Jack spoke out of nowhere, appearing just behind the boy. 

You jumped a bit, his voice startling you, though the boy didn't seem to notice. You said nothing to Jack, only glaring at him before returning your gaze to the boy in front of you.

"You were on the right track," He smiled toward you, setting your paper down and picking up a pencil. 

He began making small marks on the paper, explaining what you'd done wrong. It honestly made a little sense to you, and after realizing that, you thanked him.

"Thank you, um..." You trailed off, realizing you didn't know his name.

"Rhys," He finished for you,"And it's no problem," He smiled.

Oh goodness, seeing him smile made you smile. How had you never noticed how cute he was before? 

"Rhys," You tested the name out on your tongue, liking the way it sounded,"That's a cute name. I like it," You smiled toward him.

You heard Jack groan from behind him as Rhys laughed. 

"Thanks! My mom gave it to me," He chuckled, his cheeks slightly dusted pink.

You laughed at his stupid joke, closing your eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.

"I'm (y/n)," You chuckled, noting the way Jack was aggressively frowning behind Rhys.

What was his problem? He was acting like you were committing some kind of crime--no, wait. He'd committed crimes too, so to him it wouldn't be like that. Hm, weird.

"Well, (y/n), i'm glad I could help. Seriously, not understanding math just--" He rubbed his temples, obviously he'd been where you are at the moment,"--It's frustrating."

You nodded in agreement, picking up your pencil to try the next problem. Time passed quickly as you sat next to Rhys, enjoying his company, as well as his knowledge on the subject. You were able to complete your assignment in about half the time it would've taken you to do it alone, along with side conversations and...well, maybe flirting.

He was cute! Who could blame you?

Apparently, Jack could. He'd been pacing around the both of you the whole time, a scowl on his face each time he looked at Rhys. You couldn't understand why he seemed so upset, it's not like he was your dad or anything. You were completely capable of talking to boys your age on your own. 

Rhys had told you how his year had been going, and after telling you _'I thought you were pretty cute, that day you'd asked me for a pencil. Wait, I mean, I still think you're cute, um--'_ You were flustered, and attempted to tell him you knew what he was saying.

That had been Jack's limit, the older man disappearing after he threw his hands up into the air. What was his problem? Oh well. You were allowed to enjoy yourself, Handsome Jack AI in your head or not.

At one point you'd looked up at Rhys and caught him staring at you, his gaze falling quickly. You decided it was getting late, and if he'd said one more thing about you being cute, you'd lose it, so you told him you had to get going. The two of you parted with a wave, smiles plastered on the faces of both of you. 

➸

"Alright, one more stack, then we're done for the night," The man standing in front of you explained, setting yet another stack of flash drives and such next to you.

After leaving the library, you'd dropped your stuff off at your dorm, and had gone to work. You nodded toward him, smiling politely as you picked a silver, shiny flash drive up.

You still couldn't get over Jack on your way inside of the building, his gaze lighting up as he saw the word 'Hyperion' strung across the building. You weren't sure if it sparked old memories, and figured it was probably better if you didn't ask. He rambled on as the two of you walked toward the doors you had to go through, the snobby secretary glaring at you as you passed her.

**"This is crazy. I mean, a lot of this stuff is like, old backup shit we had. And--oh, ew, what's her problem?"** He asked, pointing toward the secretary.

You snorted quietly, Jack smiling beside you. He found that he liked making you laugh, though he wasn't sure why.

You whispered a quiet,"I'll tell you later," before going through the doors, and greeting the man that usually here.

Now here you were, almost done for the night. It was easy to go through these things, and the money was good, so hey, why not do another stack to finish off the night?

Jack insisted on staying and watching, claiming he wanted to see if he could recognize anything you were seeing. You assumed he could see what you were seeing from inside of the flash drives, due to him being literally inside of your head. While going through things he told you he'd been able to recognize certain code, and some images you were seeing. It was reassuring for some reason, to hear him say that he recognized some things. If the ex-leader of Hyperion himself could recognize things, then you were sure at least _some_ of these were safe. 

**"Ya know, pumpkin,"** His voice interrupted your thoughts, **"When ya plug into those things, you get this real dazed look on your face,"** He snickered.

You made a mental note to 'slap' him later, (though you weren't sure how that would work) your cheeks flushing pink. You tried your hardest to ignore him, grabbing another flash drive and inserting it into your port. Your focus was on the images you were seeing, and the things you were typing. That is, until Jack spoke again.

**"Ah, there it is. It's like you were just choked or somethin', hah!"** He laughed.

You couldn't see it, due to being plugged into a flash drive, but Jack stood in front of you, his face only centimeters away from yours. He watched you carefully, noting the pink dusting of your cheeks, and the way your eyebrows softened, accenting the glazed over look in your eyes. He'd seen people look like something similar to this, their eyes rolled over, glazed with death. This, though. This was different. He thought it was...cute.

If you were able to see him right now you'd probably faint, his eyes scanning every inch of you face as you tried to sort through information. He tried to bring a hand up and gently grip your chin, forgetting the whole 'i'm a hologram' thing for a moment. He let out a quiet sigh as his hand phased through you, before pulling back his hand, and putting his mouth right next to your ear.

**"Hmm. It's cute, cupcake. Real cute."**

You froze, though your hands continued typing, sorting through data and words on their own. Had Handsome Jack just called you cute? Was he being serious, or was he joking? He had to be joking, right?

As soon as you were done sorting through the drive you had plugged into your port you took it out, looking around the room for Jack. He stood to your right, his arms crossed in front of his body, a cocky smirk on his face. You flushed pink and looked away from him, trying to sort out the things in your head. There was no way he was being serious. He had to have been teasing you.

You looked back at him for answers, but before you could speak, you were met with the sight of him waving quickly and shooting you a wink, before disappearing. That smug bastard. He knew he left you flustered.

"Uh...is everything okay? Can we move on to the next one?" The man in front of you asked, eyeing you suspiciously. 

You tried to come up with an excuse quickly,"Yeah! I just had to take a second to breathe, y'know?"

Oh, you were going to get Jack for doing this to you.


	5. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After going to the library once again, you meet Rhys, and have a nice chat with him. Jack's super pissy, and though you're not sure why, you think it might have something to do with your chat with Rhys. Later on, you're paired up with our favorite aussie for an english project, and somehow make a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my goodness, this took forever to get out. it's getting juicy now, huh? c: 
> 
> also, there may or may not be some NSFW in the upcoming chapter...*wink wink*

**"Oh my goddd,"** Jack groaned from beside you, **"Please tell me you're not going just to see that kid again."**

You rolled your eyes, debating on arguing with him. After yesterday you hadn't talked to him much, only having a small chat about how Helios fell before you went to bed. He said nothing about the words he'd spoken to you while you were at your part time job, and you didn't want to bring it up, so that was the end of that. The thought of him being serious still lingered in your mind, but at the end of the day, you figured he was only teasing you. After all, everyone would enjoy hearing Handsome Jack say they were cute, right? you couldn't be dumb enough to fall for one of his comments.

He'd talked to you all morning, watching you eat your breakfast and explaining how much he missed the taste of food. You only laughed and tried to feed it to him like a child, making airplane noises and saying 'open wide, jack', before trying to plunge the fork into his mouth. He wouldn't tell you, and though he had a straight face the whole time, he thought it was pretty funny. You'd picked up on Jack not being too honest quickly. If he thought you'd judge him for finding something funny, he wouldn't laugh at it. Often times he avoided your questions, too. You left it alone though.

"I'm going because I need to study, Jack," You explained, not completely telling the truth.

If he was allowed to lie, then so were you. You had initially planned on going to the library to actually study some more, but after remembering your encounter with Rhys you only wanted to go more, in hopes of talking to him again. Jack didn't need to know that, though.

 **"Riiiight."** Jack rolled his eyes.

You arrived at the library the same time you had the day before, taking a seat in one of the corners of the building. You figured sitting in a corner would draw less attention from the librarians if Rhys _did_ come back to talk to you.

He entered your vision just as you'd thought about him, giving a small wave, and a gentle smile. Making his way over to you, he looked around awkwardly, before taking the seat next to you. 

**"Oh my god, he seriously came back!"** Jack laughed, pointing a finger at Rhys, **"What a weirdo, seriously."**

You shot Jack a glare, just quick enough to where Rhys wouldn't notice. You assumed Jack was still calling him a weirdo because he didn't like him for some reason. Why, you weren't sure.

There was a small awkward silence before you decided to initiate the conversation.

"Hey! I'm really sorry, but is there any way you could um... _maybe_ help me out some more with math?" You asked.

You gave yourself some brownie points for the good conversation starter. This way he would be able to easily respond, and it would keep the two of you busy, which meant no more awkward silences.

"Sure," He smiled softly, setting his bag down and digging around for his papers.

Jack's voice was aggravated next to you, **"Unbelievable. Get me once you two are done doing that weird flirting thing you do, 'kay?"**

You shrugged him off, grabbing your papers out of your bag as he disappeared. 

The two of you began working, Rhys scooting closer to you over time (to show you how to do the math, of course, why else would he?) You'd been working with him for several hours, stopping to take breaks from math. During your 'break' periods you'd ask him about himself, what he liked to do, basic stuff. He told you he was interested in technology, and that he had a best friend that was in the same major as him. You thought it'd be nice to have a best friend that was in the same major as you, though not many people appreciated fine arts as much as you did. You'd asked him about his family, and he'd told you that both of his parents had survived the crash, both of them living not too far away from the college campus.

He'd asked you about yourself, and so you told him you were majoring in fine arts, and that you had gotten a part time job for Hyperion. When asked about your family you hesitated. Should you tell him? You didn't want him to pity you, that was the last thing you wanted.

"For one, I have two moms," You laughed, watching his mouth open in an 'o' shape.

He gasped,"Really? That's so cool. I mean, my dad forced me to work on old cars and stuff with him, so you didn't have to go through that, at least," He chuckled, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh no, I didn't get away from that. One of my moms, Sarah, she was big on stuff like that. _God,_ I cannot tell you how many old cars I fixed with her. My other mom, Liv, she wasn't too big on that stuff. She was always the one taking care of the stuff inside the house, like cooking and stuff, y'know?" You shrugged.

Hearing you talk about your family made Rhys smile, he was genuinely interested in what you were saying.

"And what about now? Where are they staying?" He questioned.

You paused, before biting your lip anxiously.

"They um..." You trailed off, not able to finish the sentence.

You weren't sure why you were telling Rhys this. He was practically just a school acquaintance, you should've smacked him for asking such personal questions. But you didn't. You felt comfortable around him. 

"I'm so sorry," He apologized,"I really didn't mean to bring any bad memories up,"

You shook your head, slowly picking up your pencil,"It's alright, really. You didn't know," 

You gave him a half-hearted smile, watching the way his gaze flicked from your eyes to your mouth. Before things could go any farther you looked down at your paper, trying to work on another problem.

➸

About two hours later you finally stood up, stretching and grabbing your bag. Rhys did the same, his gaze on you as you yawned and stretched.

"Can I ask you something?"

You rubbed your eyes and looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. You only nodded to his question, adjusting the strap to your bag on your shoulder.

"Could I get your number? For math and stuff, not because I wanna text you all the time, I mean, wait--"

"Rhys, I know what you mean," You laughed, watching his cheeks flush,"You can have my number, dude."

After a very awkward exchange, the two of you parted ways, Rhys deciding to go in for a quick hug. You thought it was cute, the way he paused before embracing you. You hugged him back, of course, and gave him a small smile before leaving.

Jack began speaking to you as soon as you left the library, being pissy about you spending time with Rhys.

 **"He asked for your number, pumpkin. And what the hell was with the hug? I mean, I knew he looked desperate, but not _that_ desperate, hah!"** He laughed, walking beside you.

You didn't think it was very funny. You found Rhys cute, and you enjoyed the hug the two of you had shared. Jack was just being pissy.

"Can you just leave it alone? For two seconds?" You asked, looking over at him.

He looked confused, one of his eyebrows quirked. You didn't want to upset him, you just wanted him to stop. The teasing was getting annoying at this point. 

**"What, do you _seriously_ like this kid? Come onnn cupcake. You can't be serious."** He raised his hands, as if pleading for you to say no.

Why did it matter so much to him? He wasn't your boyfriend (no matter how much you'd like that...).

"Why does it matter Jack? Can you please stop?" You asked again.

He gave an angry grunt before whispering a small, **"Whatever."**

You were about to respond, probably about to tell him that he was being pissy for no reason, when your phone buzzed in your pocket. You took it out quickly, Jack making an effort to see your screen. It was Rhys.

_Hey. Was the hug too much?_

You laughed to yourself, and though you just met this boy, you could already feel your cheeks heating up from how dorky he was. You responded,

_No !! It was a good hug :)_

You began walking again, the feeling of Jack's presence absent. Where had he gone? You looked around briefly, seeing him stopped where you'd been standing when you'd got on your phone. His arms were down by his sides, though his palms were facing up and his hands were open, as if he was grieving something. His face...had a look of disgust on it. Like you'd just said something so vile, he didn't even want to be near you.

"Uhh...Jack? You coming?" You asked, tilting your head in the direction of your language arts class.

You could tell something was wrong, his pace slow as he walked toward you. 

**"Yeah, yeah, i'm comin'."** He mocked, crossing his arms as he stopped in front of you. 

"...What's wrong with you?" You asked quietly, genuinely concerned.

Being concerned made you feel...weird. Should you really worry about what was wrong with a literal homicidal maniac? Should you worry about what he thinks of you? The thought alone was disturbing. Without even realizing it, you had been caring what he thought of you for the past days. Why did you care? Why should you care?

 **"Ohh nothin'. You just hurry to your little class, yeah?"** He spoke, his voice holding anger.

Well, at least you could say you tried. He'd told you nothing, so you weren't going to bother him about it any more. With a simple shrug of your shoulders, you continued walking, Jack's presence behind you. It was unnerving--walking with him and not hearing his voice. Usually he'd be talking, making fun of passing students, or reminiscing about the days when he used to be in charge. You were always interested in what he had to say, though you weren't sure why. Maybe it was because in a way, Jack was your friend. Sure, he wasn't physically there, and he was kinda see-through and blue, but...he was your friend. 

And as annoying as his behavior had been as of late, you couldn't help but think it was because he was worried about you. Maybe he was worried you were getting involved with the wrong people. Of course, you knew it was selfish to think like that. He probably didn't give two shits about you, and the only reason he was keeping you around is because he's inside _your_ head. 

Though the silence was unnerving, it was somewhat nice. At some point, Jack had walked up next to you, now pacing beside you as you made your way to class. It was peaceful, taking a stroll to your next class without Jack blabbering in your ear. (Err--your head?) Turning to look at him only made you realize how quiet he really had gone. His arms were crossed in front of him, his gaze settled ahead. You weren't one to stare, but...oh come on, how could you not?

Secretly, you got goosebumps realizing that nobody else could see Jack right now. In a sense, he was...yours. Not in that way! Just...in the 'i'm the only one that can actually see him' way, ya know?

Your gaze trailed over his features, from his broad chest to his slanted nose, and--oh goodness, were his eyelashes always this long? And did his hair always look this good? 

You realized then that this was the same man that had called you 'cute'. And yeah, he was probably messing with you, but it was nice to dream. 

His head turned slowly, and as you realized you had been caught staring, your cheeks flushed. God damnit. 

**"You starin' at me again cupcake?"** He raised an eyebrow, that cocky smirk of his plastered on his face.

You averted your gaze to the ground in front of you, crossing your arms,"No..." You mumbled.

He gave a short laugh before he began to walk closer beside you, and if he were physically there, you were sure your arms would be touching.

**" 'S okay if you are. Seriously, who doesn't wanna stare at me?"**

Aaaand there was that self-centered attitude. 

"I wasn't staring, asshole..." You furrowed your brows, walking into your english classroom.

**"Mhmmm. Sure you weren't."**

➸

Halfway through the lecture your professor dismissed the classes attention, leaving you all to work on the homework you'd been given. Of course, the plot wouldn't move along if it wasn't a partner project, so here you were.

You'd been assigned to work with the kid who sat next to you. You didn't know the kid, but you were hoping that he was nice enough to pull his end of the weight in this project. You tapped him on the shoulder, his attention turning towards you. He looked...familiar for some reason.

"...Yeeees?" he quietly chuckled, turning towards you.

You stumbled over your words, trying your hardest to recognize who the hell this boy was,"I um...I'm (y/n). Listen, this is really weird, but you seem super familiar, and I--"

"Zane." He introduced himself, that damn Irish accent of his flooding you with memories,"You gonna deck me this time? 'Cos if ya are, i'd like a warnin'," 

That blonde-silver hair, and that stupid accent, and his fucking--

Zane. He was the vault hunter who'd talked to your parents last. He was the one your parents' had saved. So many emotions flooded you, hate, anger, pain, sadness--yet you did nothing. You took it upon yourself to take deep breaths, and steady your breathing. 

**"Woah cupcake, what's going on? Your hearts goin' like, crazy fast, and--oh shit."** Jack stopped, materializing next to you.

Did he know who Zane was? What would he say? Gah, it didn't matter. You needed to address the vault hunter. (Also, since when did vault hunters go to college?)

"No, no, I won't. I um...wow." Was all you could say.

 **"I'd deck 'em,"** Jack spoke from beside you, glaring at Zane.

You opted on ignoring him at the moment. Dealing with one troublesome boy was enough. 

He gave you a kind smile, though he was still leaning away from you, like he was afraid you'd punch him.

"Listen, if it really bothers ya that much, I can work with someone else-" He started.

You sighed,"It's alright, don't worry about it. I'm sure we can work well together," You tried, giving him a light hearted smile.

A small nod came from him before he pulled a paper out, and began working on his end of the project.

 **"Sooo...we don't like this guy? What'd he do, huh? Make fun of you in grade school or somethin'? Cause if that's all it is, I say you just--"** Jack started, immediately stopping once you shot him a glare.

He could tell this wasn't the time to mess around...though he was probably going to mess around anyway. The way you glared at him made him stop, though he didn't know why. There was something in your eyes he couldn't name. You looked furious and sad, all at once. What had this guy done to you? It was then that Jack started to get angry, (though he wouldn't tell you that) scenarios running through his mind about what he could've done to you. Had he hit you? Stood you up? Spread rumors about you? _Was it worse than that?_

"Zane?" You asked for his attention quietly, absentmindedly tearing little tiny pieces of paper out of your notebook.

He turned toward you immediately, raising a brow,"Hm?"

You paused for a moment. Should you really say this? Would it just make things more awkward?

Oh, fuck it. 

"I'm sorry for uh...for punching you, when you told me all that stuff."

A long silence, then he spoke.

"...'S alright. If some random dude walked up ta me and told me all o' that shit, i'd probably wanna deck 'em too." He chuckled quietly.

 **"Ohh shit, cupcake! You decked this dude?"** Jack raised an eyebrow, his gaze looking over you.

Okay, so far, he had a little bit of context. This guy had told you something you didn't like, then you'd punched him. Hard. Really hard. But what had he told you? 

"Yeah," You chuckled,"I just don't want this to be awkward. I mean, I also wanna do a good job on this project, and I probably won't be able to if i'm worrying about you forgiving me the whole time,"

Zane noted the worry in your voice, and gave you a kind smile,"Well, apology accepted. Now we can do our work, yeah?"

You gave him a nod, picking up your pencil and beginning to work.

Time had passed quickly, and you'd figured out that you and Zane had a lot more in common than you thought you would. He wasn't majoring in fine arts, but he found it fascinating, and when it was brought up, he'd asked you all about your major. It was...nice to have someone interested in what you did. You hadn't realized it, but you were having fun talking to him. You found he was extremely funny, and oh goodness, he was a charmer. 

The conversation broke off as the bell rang, you being the first one to stand.

"Thanks for not deckin' me, (y/n)," Zane laughed quietly as he stood up, smiling at you.

You giggled,"No problem."

He stood still for a moment, as if he was considering something, before speaking.

"Ya know, since you didn't deck me, I'm pretty sure we're best friends now," He joked.

You laughed at that, but found yourself not too upset over the idea of being friends with him. At the end of the day, he wasn't the reason your mothers died. If anything, you figured you should be thankful for him. He was able to tell you what they were doing in their last moments, and he had talked to him. In your mind, he was the closest thing you could get to having your parents back. If that lead you to a new friend, then so be it. You parents let him use the last escape pod for a reason, and this must be it. They must've wanted someone your age to be there for you.

"Best friends, then?" You questioned, extending your pinky out to propose a pinky promise.

After all, who in their right mind breaks a pinky promise?

"Best friends," He snickered, locking pinkies with you.


	6. Blocking Jack Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains NSFW content! After returning to your dorm you plan to block Jack out, not interested as to why he's being pissy. That is, until he interrupts you, and you end up asking him why he's so upset with you. One thing leads to another aaaand...well, things get frisky.

Walking back to your dorm had turned out to be a nightmare. Well...in some way. After telling Zane goodbye and making your way toward your dorm, Jack appeared next to you. He kept up, walking beside you, but never said a word. You could feel his eyes on you, something in his gaze telling you that he wasn't playing around. You weren't sure what was wrong with him. It seemed as if whenever you talked to practically _anyone_ else, he'd get upset. 

Was he...jealous? Was that possible? Could _The Handsome Jack_ get jealous? What was there to be jealous of? 

Maybe it was because you were the only one who could see him. Was he jealous that he wasn't getting all of your attention? Or maybe he'd expected you to be one of his fangirls, constantly fawning over him, and stopping everything to have a conversation with him. Sure, he _was_ rather cute, but he had to understand that you weren't one of those obsessive fan girls that thought about only him day and night. 

He had to understand that, right?

**"You forget I can hear what you're thinking?"** Jack broke the silence, keeping his arms crossed in front of him as he walked beside you.

You let out a sigh, keeping your eyes on the pavement in front of you,"Guess so."

He gave a small chuckle, obviously finding your thoughts funny. Was that confirmation that he wasn't jealous? You hoped so.

You finally reached your dorm, waiting for Jack to walk in before shutting the door. Sighing, you set your bag on the floor, and walked over to your couch. You didn't feel like doing your work for some reason. Maybe it was because you knew Jack was upset with you for whatever reason. Hm.

Grabbing a blanket you anxiously bit your lip, your hand grabbing the TV remote. Hopefully you could watch some TV, and Jack would piss off for once. You honestly doubted that would happen, though.

As soon as you turned on the TV he spoke, sitting down next to you.

**"...Blocking me out now, are we?"** He asked, raising a brow.

You gave a heavy sigh and muted the television, turning to look at him. He didn't look as angry as he had on the walk to your dorm, which was good. He always seemed to be in a better mood when it was just you and him, for some odd reason. You chalked it up to the other students at your school being annoying.

"That was the plan, but since you're actually _talking to me now,_ I guess I can just ask. What the hell is wrong with you?" You questioned.

He furrowed his brows, his mouth hanging open for a mere second.

**"The hell do you mean?"**

Oh, so he was going to play dumb.

"Jack, you've been in a pissy mood ever since I talked to Rhys. It's like you're upset with me or something, I don't know--" You tried.

**"A pissy mood? You've _obviously_ never seen me in a pissy mood. I dunno what you're talking about."** He retorted.

"You're acting like a child, Jack. What is it? Why are you so upset with me? Is it because I talked to other men my age? Is that what it is?" You taunted.

He said nothing, only huffing and averting his gaze. Aha. That was it.

"Oh, boo fucking hoo Jack. I didn't ask to be stuck with you, you know that? And just because we're like--connected or something, doesn't mean you can control who I can and can't talk to." 

There was a long, uncomfortable silence filled with your anger. Who did he think he was, getting angry because you talked to other guys? 

**"You're real feisty, huh? I didn't ask to be stuck with you either, cupcake."** He spoke.

...That was all he had to say? Nothing about you speaking to guys your age?

"That's it? That's all you have? I'm asking you a fucking question, Jack. Why are you always upset with me when I talk to guys my age? What makes you so pissy when I do it?"

You couldn't help but flinch as he stood up quickly, approaching your side of the couch in a hurry.

**"Okay, fine. You wanna know why, pumpkin? Because I'm stuck in this tiny little brain of yours,"** He sneered, his finger tapping the side of your head, **"And whenever you talk to a guy, I can hear what you're thinking. It also doesn't help that I can hear the awkward flirting, y'know. I mean, god, you're terrible at it,"** He mocked, his finger continuing to tap the side of your head.

You didn't know what to do, or what to say. You were froze as he tapped on your head, your eyes watching the way his scanned your face. Why was he this close? And did he just call you dumb? What gave him the right--

_ZAP!_

You closed your eyes at the noise, a slight pain growing in the side of your head. What had he just done?

"Ow! Jack, what the hell did you just--" You started, but cut yourself off as you realized something.

You could feel him. Feel his finger tapping the side of your head now. You could feel warmth, like he was actually crouching in front of you. What was happening? What had he done?

**"Oh shit, cupcake. I can actually like, _feel_ you now. Like, I can touch your noggin'!"** He chuckled, watching your cheeks flush.

He hadn't realized you could also feel his touch. This was going to be interesting.

**"You can feel me too, can't ya?"** He smirked.

You nodded your head slowly, watching his eyes go from your port, to your nose, then your lips, then your eyes. There was a moment where neither of you said anything. Just silence, a look being exchanged between the both of you for a mere moment. Now was when you realized how pretty his eyes were again. Though he was tinted blue, you could still make out which eye was green between the two. You wondered if he thought your eyes were as pretty as you thought his were.

Was he even thinking about stuff like that? Or was he still upset with you?

Your question was answered as a bruising kiss was pressed to your lips, leaving you with nothing left to do but kiss back. The warmth you were feeling from him was absolutely overwhelming, his body now leaning over yours as he stole a kiss. Your arms came up and settled around his neck, appreciating the low noise he gave when you embraced him. Jack returned the embrace for a moment, before running his hands down to your hips, and settling them there.

He pulled back first, though your embrace tightened, keeping him in place. As mad as you were right now, you didn't want him to go. You didn't want to stop feeling his body heat. If anything, you wanted to feel more of it. 

He gave a quiet chuckle at your attempt to keep him close to you, giving in and connecting his lips to your neck. You couldn't help but give a small whine, your legs trying their hardest to buckle around his waist, though they weren't successful. 

**"You wanna know why I get so upset when you talk to other guys, cupcake?"** He spoke in a low tone, his voice dripping with arousal.

He didn't even let you speak, finishing his thought before you had time to confirm his assumption.

**"It's because _they_ can't treat you like _I_ can,"** He laughed quietly.

You were pretty sure that you'd be freaking out at the moment, had it not been for Jack's body heat, and his reassuring grasp around your waist. His gentle chuckle sent shivers down your spine, and the way he was talking definitely contrasted with his movements, his mouth harsh on your neck. You were sure he was going to leave marks, though for some reason, you didn't mind. 

"Jack..." You quietly moaned, tilting your head back to give him better access to your neck. 

He hummed a quiet thanks, leaving more marks on your neck. The idea of Jack being territorial was hot enough on it's own, no doubt, but the fact that you genuinely had _the_ Handsome Jack leaving marks on you was...spine chilling. 

**"Mmh, you really like this, don'tcha baby?"** He purred, able to tell exactly what you were thinking.

Oh god, you'd forgotten about that. This was going to be so embarrassing, considering the only thing you could think about right now was _him_ , and what he was going to do to you. You honestly wouldn't even mind if he planned on ruining you.

You gave a quiet _'yes'_ to answer his question, relishing in the way he would slowly soothe the harsh marks he'd made on your neck by licking them. Everything this man did was hot, god damnit. 

Apparently he got bored of marking you up, as his hands gently squeezed your waist, then began to move downward, tugging at the waistband of your pants after he'd tossed your blanket to the side. You practically ripped them off, Jack's dark chuckle making you flush pink. It was adorable to him how eager you were. 

He knew you wouldn't be as eager as you were now for that stupid dork from the library, or for that jackass you'd talked to in one of your classes that day. Something about picturing you and them made a fire appear in his eyes, one that definitely would not be put out any time soon. 

Warm fingers made contact with your clothed sex and you groaned, one of your hands going up to card through his hair. He wasn't gentle by any means, the roughness of his hand alone enough to make you buck your hips up. A small chuckle came from him as he leaned forward once more, bringing his lips to yours. This kiss was more bruising than the last, Jack heaving heavily as he prodded your mouth open with his tongue. The lewdness of the kiss made you that much more turned on, Jack's fingers slipping beneath your panties with ease.

**" _God_ cupcake, you're just dripping for me, aren't you?"** He smirked, breaking the kiss to tease you.

You felt yourself flush pink, his words going straight to your core.

"Shut up and touch me," You snapped, pulling his face back toward yours. 

He made no effort to kiss you, his fingers teasing your entrance slowly. He watched the pleading emotion on your face, the way your eyebrows tilted up and your lips pouted. He finally slid one finger into you, and god, were his fingers thick. You whined at the sensation, Jack's gaze flickering from your eyes, to your lips. He found you absolutely enticing, the way that you'd snap at him, yet lose complete control whenever he did something. 

"Another," You quietly whined, opening your eyes to find Jack's face extremely close to yours.

His eyes bore into yours, a lopsided smile spreading across his face, **"Mm, first you gotta say my name, princess."** He smirked.

Hell no. You were _not_ going to let him embarrass you like that. 

...Is what you told yourself. 

He slowed the movement of his finger down, slowly dragging it in and out of you.

**"Come onnn, please? God, you sound so fuckin' cute when you whine my name, makes me wanna bone you right here and now,"**

Ignoring the fact that he just said the word 'bone' instead of 'fuck', you bit your lip, letting him have what he wanted.

"Please, _Jack,_ " You plead.

That shit eating grin spread across his face once more, another finger gently prodding into you. It must've excited him, the way you whined his name, as he picked up his pace tenfold, finger fucking you as fast as he could.

"Ahh, hah, Jack, fuckkk," You swore, your brain absolutely scrambled.

Hearing you say his name was adding kindle to the fire that'd started prior. He didn't want to hear you say anyone else's name. Just his. 

**"You wanted to know why I always get so upset when you talk to other guys?"** He spoke, knowing damn well you couldn't answer, **"Because I'm the only one that can make you a mess like this, yeah, princess?"**

You nodded your head, not completely trusting yourself to be able to form a coherent sentence.

**"I bet that kid from the library couldn't make you feel _anything_ like this."** He stated, bringing his lips to your ear.

"I know, I know," You mindlessly sobbed, arching your back in an effort to get closer to him. 

You craved his touch, his lips on your neck, his _voice_ echoing through your head. You craved _him._

**"Mmh, y'know, when I called you cute at that lab, cause of that look on your face,"** He started, licking the outer shell of your ear, **"I didn't know you'd look _this cute_ being finger fucked, babe,"** He purred.

You were sure you were full on blushing now, the obscene noises of his fingers shoving in and out of you, as well as his words setting you off. You felt the coil in your belly tighten, and gripped onto Jack's arms, trying to warn him.

He leaned forwards, connecting his lips with yours once more. This kiss was sloppy and desperate, teeth and tongue clashing as you moaned into Jack's mouth.

**"I can tell you're close, cupcake. Are you gonna cum? Huh?"** He teased.

Your head rapidly nodded, his name falling off of your lips like a mantra as you grew closer to your climax. 

"Jack, Jack, Jack, ohhh fuck," You sobbed, your body spasming as you reached your high.

Jack continued to use his fingers on you, watching the way you jerked as he overstimulated you. He stopped after a couple of minutes, soft kisses being pressed to the skin of your neck as silence filled the room. You were breathing heavily, carding your fingers through Jack's hair. You appreciated how soft it was at the moment. Was his hair always this soft?

"Your hair's soft..." You trailed off, out of breath.

He laughed, **"I Just finger fucked you until you were literally screaming my name, and you're concerned about my hair being soft?"**

You laughed at that, realizing that he'd really fucked your brain up. You looked at him as he pulled back, a smile spread across his face as he observed you, except this time, his smile seemed genuine. Not condescending. 

Your eyes drifted closed as you lay there, Jack watching you sleepily blink again and again. Each time you opened your eyes he was still there, smiling and watching you. You smiled back, bringing your hand up to cup his jawline. You gently tugged his face downward, kissing him yet again. 

You enjoyed the softness of this kiss, relishing in the way he was running his hands up and down your thighs. God, you loved how warm he was. 

He broke the kiss, watching your eyes fall closed yet again from tiredness.

**"Here, cupcake,"** He tried, laying you down longways on the couch, and grabbing the blanket you'd been using previously. 

He (somehow) scooched in behind you, wrapping the blanket around the both of you, and his arm around you. 

You would've thanked him if you were still awake, and probably freaked out due to what just happened, but you were already out, Jack's warmth being a perfect blanket to make you fall asleep.

Jack wasn't sure what to do. He'd never done...soft shit like this before. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to sleep with you, wanted to lay beside you and watch you breathe steadily. He wasn't even sure how long you'd be able to touch him, and vise versa. He didn't know if this wore off, or if something would happen to him after you woke up. Truth be told, he was a little scared, though he'd never admit that. He didn't want to disappear. I mean, how could he know what was gonna happen, he wasn't even expecting to be a hologram in the first place!

All Jack knew was that he hoped he was still with you when you woke up, hologram or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter added to my pile of sin. as always, please let me know if you find any grammatical errors or punctuation mistakes!


	7. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting up with Rhys to have some coffee, reader is vulnerable to both men she finds attractive. Words are exchanged, and after being asked if she knows anything about Handsome Jack, she says no. Jack isn't happy. 
> 
> THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES ANGST.

Waking up, you felt oddly cold, though you weren't sure why. You took a couple of moments to open your eyes, slowly blinking and looking around. Your alarm for lecture hadn't gone off, so you assumed it was the weekend. Thank god, because your head was pounding. What had you done the night prior? No drinking, no partying, just...oh. Now you remembered what happened.

It briefly crossed your mind that it could have been a dream, but after realizing you were on your couch, and had your fuzzy blanket thrown over you, you knew it had actually happened. Would Jack talk to you? Did that mean anything? If so, what were you?

Gah, too many questions. 

You shrugged it off for the moment, deciding to stand up and make your way over to your kitchen. The silence was uncomfortable to say the least. You were expecting to hear from a certain asshole any second now, ready for him to tease you or bark at you to _'Just tell that friggin' company i'm in your head or somethin!'_ Though he never showed up. You took some medicine for your headache, wondering whether or not that was Jack's doing. 

He was aware that he could mess with your nerves, and after toying with you like he had the night prior, what was there to stop him from making you feel sick? Nothing really. 

**"Oh come onnnn, you really think i'd make you feel sick after that pretty little show you put on for me last night?"**

You jumped, Jack's voice echoing throughout your head. Just hearing him say those words was enough to make you flush, your gaze averting to the ground. You knew he'd materialized somewhere in the room, you just particularly didn't want to find out where.

"Jesus, Jack..." You crossed your arms, awkwardly looking toward the ground,"Don't scare me like that you prick,"

You heard him chuckle a bit, your face growing more red by the second. God damnit, this wasn't fair. Who wouldn't get flushed if _Handsome Jack_ himself was teasing them?

 **"Mmkay. Sorry 'bout that!"** He hummed, making his way out of your kitchen.

You hadn't looked up from the floor, though you could see his god awful sneakers making their way out of the kitchen. You mentally decided that this was worse than having a one night stand stay the night at your place. This was worse than probably anything, ever.

 **"Are you fuckin' serious?"** You heard Jack exclaim from your couch, your eyes coming up from the floor.

You decided you should probably see what he was on about, because for all you knew, he was messing with something, and had fucked something up. 

"What?" You asked, poking your head out of the kitchen.

He was looking down at your phone, a look of disgust written across his face. 

**"Huh? Oh, nothin',"** He looked up at you, shrugging his shoulders as if he was trying to brush it off.

...What had Jack seen on your phone that had upset him? You began to make your way over to the couch to answer that question, leaning forward to pick your phone up.

 **"Really! Really, it's nothing. You don't even have to check--okay, why are you checking. Seriously, don't, hey, pumpkin, you hear me? Hellooooo?"** He waved his hand in front of your face, your eyes scanning your phone screen.

Rhys had texted you. That's what upset Jack. You looked up at him, hiding the smile that wanted to spread across your face so badly. You had been right all along--it turns out Handsome Jack does get jealous.

"Number one, yes, I can hear you, I just choose to ignore you sometimes," You rolled your eyes, tilting your head at him,"And number two, it's just Rhys, Jack. What's the big deal?"

He paused for a moment, as if he was searching for the right words.

**"Ummm...okay, ouch cupcake. That uh, that one kinda hurt."**

You chuckled at his exclamation before opening your phone, wondering what Rhys wanted.

_Hey! You need anymore help with math?_

You mentally gave him points for conversation starter, quickly typing your response.

_Rhys...you could just ask me to lunch or something LOL_

You smiled at your response before sending it.

Apparently, Jack wasn't too happy about that.

 **"Woah woah woah, what're you smilin' at? Huh? Gimme the phone, cupcake,"** He tried, reaching forwards to grab it out of your hands.

You stood still, wondering if you could still feel him like you had the night prior. It's not like you had anything to lose by finding out, anyway. What happened was expected, his hand phased right through the phone. He tried again to grab it, acting like a child in his attempt.

 **"Goddamnit...this would be a lot easier if you just complied, kiddo."** He huffed, making grabby hands toward your phone.

You paused for a moment, watching him. Why was this so amusing to you? ...Probably because it was Handsome Jack acting like a five year old. 

"If I tell you, it'll just hurt your feelings," You stuck your tongue out, pulling your phone toward your chest. 

**"Ya know what? Fuck you."** He crossed his arms, turning to pout in another direction. 

...He really did have the temper of a five year old. 

Your phone buzzed, Jack 'ignoring' it and facing away from you.

_Oh. Okay_

A few more seconds, then another message.

_Wanna go get lunch at the school's café?_

You laughed out loud at his internal pause, imagining him taking the time to type it out. Jack huffed beside you, obviously annoyed at your amusement.

 **"Treating me like i'm a fuckin' five year old..."** He pouted.

You paused for a moment (solely to roll your eyes at him), before making your way to your bedroom, messaging Rhys back a quick _i'd love to :)_

Jack followed you silently, watching as you sorted through the clothes you had. Watching you was fun for him in a certain way. It was a chance to see things differently. Not that his way of seeing things was wrong, of course, (because it wasn't, duh) he just liked watching you. He'd always watch as you silently ate breakfast alone, or snuggled up in your blanket and watched TV. He'd never stand in your room while you were changing or anything, though. (...Only because you'd yelled at him and told him to stop being a creep the one time he tried.) 

"Jack?" You inquired, turning around with a sweater in each hand. 

He blinked his eyes to break his 'trance', raising a brow **,"Hm?"**

"Which sweater?" You asked, taking your time to look at each one. 

The one in your left hand was a pastel blue, no words or anything sewn in it. The one in your right hand was Hyperion yellow, a small 'H' sewn into the pocket area.

Jack rolled his eyes **,"Since when did I become your dress up pal?"**

You furrowed your brows, giving a short huff before turning back around to face your closet. Fine. You didn't need his opinion anyway.

You went ahead and picked out the pants you wanted to wear, as well as your favorite pair of shoes, but still couldn't decide on which sweater. If you went with the blue, you could always wear the Hyperion one next time. Would there be a next time? And what if the blue was too plain?

If you went with the Hyperion one, everyone might think that you're obsessed with a dead company. 

**"The yellow one."** You heard from across the room, Jack sitting on your bed.

A small smile spread across your face as you picked the yellow one up, nodding your head in silent agreement.

➸ 

Getting ready was easy, besides Jack sitting in your room and making a comment on your makeup every five seconds.

 **"Yeah that reminds me--did'ya already cover up those marks I made on you pumpkin?"** He sent a wink your way, your cheeks flushing.

Shit. Sure, you could try to cover them up, but your concealer definitely wasn't full coverage. What were you gonna do?

Slowly you turned back to the mirror, looking at your neck to try and find said spots. Except...you couldn't find them.

"They're gone..." You whispered, running your fingers over the skin of your neck.

 **"What? How the hell's that possible?"** Jack asked, tilting his head.

You'd never tell him, but the way he tilted his head like a puppy was somewhat cute to you.

"I don't know. I mean, think about it Jack. You're literally a hologram inside of my head. How is any of this possible?" You chuckled, picking up your mascara.

He gave a quiet hum and a nod in agreement, watching you do your makeup in silence now. 

➸ 

You arrived at the university's café probably too early, eagerly taking a seat at a table for two and pulling your phone out. Jack never said anything about you going somewhere with Rhys, not even giving you a 'bye' before fading away. You left your dorm figuring he was pouting. 

"(y/n)?" 

You looked up, smiling after seeing the owner of the soft voice that had called your name.

"The one and only," You joked, motioning for him to sit down. 

He took the seat across from you, a warm smile spreading across his face as he took in your apparel. 

"You look so cute!" He exclaimed quietly.

You could feel your cheeks heating up at his comment,"Oh--thanks. You know, you look pretty cute too," You tried.

It was true, though. He had on a light blue hoodie and some jeans, his hair slicked back like it always was. If you were to go with the blue sweater you would've matched--you'd have to thank Jack on that decision later.

"Aww shucks, you mean it?" He chuckled, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. 

Before things could get any more awkward a waitress approached the two of you, quickly taking your orders and rushing away.

After several more awkward moments of flirting, and your coffee being set in front of you, you and Rhys actually had a nice conversation. He apologized again for bringing up your parents in the library, to which you responded with a 'you didn't know, it's alright.' The two of you talked about a plethora of topics, ranging from his major, to his best friend Vaughn, to your major, to the way Helios used to be before it fell. 

You told him you weren't quite sure how it fell still, you were only told that it was some kind of AI that had gotten into the system somehow. In the back of your mind, you had your doubts that it _maybe_ was Jack that had done it. Maybe he was just lying to you.

Rhys only shrugged and took another sip of his coffee, his cheeks growing a slight shade of pink as you smiled toward him. Hm. Apparently he wasn't aware why Helios fell either. Weird. Part of you wanted to tell him about Jack, but you knew that was the crazy in you talking. After all, you'd probably seem crazy, and the chances of this happening ever again would definitely drop to a zero. You found that you really didn't like that idea, spending time with Rhys was enjoyable so far. 

"Hey, can I ask you a more personal question?" He asked quietly, setting his coffee down on the table.

A personal question? What did he mean?

You nodded your head and smiled softly,"Of course,"

He cleared his throat for a moment, his gaze softening.

"You um...your parents," He started, falling silent as he watched your expression drop.

You inhaled deeply, taking a second to steady your breathing,"What about them?"

"Before I ask this--stop me if it's too much, okay? I really don't wanna upset you..." He frowned, setting his arms down onto the table.

You gave him a swift nod, biting your lip anxiously. The idea of him being considerate did warm your heart, though it was hard to focus on that when he'd brought up your parents.

"They're..." He started, not sure how to say the word 'dead' without upsetting you.

It wasn't something easily done, anyway.

"Dead." You finished for him, looking him straight in the eyes.

His gaze seemed to soften even more, his eyebrows dropping to show that he was distressed. 

"...So you live alone?" He asked.

All you could give was a small nod, tears threatening to form in your eyes. Why was he asking about your parents? Why did it matter to him?

You let your hands fall into his on the table, looking down as you felt a gentle squeeze on one of your hands. It wasn't much, but he was trying to reassure you. To let you know that there was no malicious intent in asking these questions.

The small gesture was enough to make a tear leave your eye, the motion reminding you of your parents yet again. You missed their reassurance and their embraces. You'd never get those back.

"Too much," You weakly croaked, squeezing his hands. 

He gave a small nod, bringing one of his hands up to wipe away the tear you'd shed. He hadn't meant to upset you. He was just baffled that you were this put together without any guidance. Baffled that you seemed to be doing okay. 

After several moments of silence that the both of you filled with coffee drinking, the two of you got up, Rhys offering to walk you back to your dorm. You agreed, enjoying his company. After arriving at your dorm, the two of you shared a goodbye, Rhys lunging forward to embrace you. You couldn't help but embrace him back, taking a moment to breathe in his soft scent.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said as he hugged you, referring to your parents, and the fact that he'd brought them up.

You didn't say anything, not trusting your voice at the moment. You only hugged him tighter, closing your eyes in an attempt to stop yourself from getting upset. After breaking the hug, Rhys gave you a small, reassuring smile, before turning to walk away. You let him go, honestly wanting to move on from the conversation. You were sure he meant to harm in bringing it up, but...you didn't want to think about it anymore.

➸

Unbeknownst to you, Jack had been listening the whole time, because: one, he was nosy as fuck, and two, he was genuinely curious as to what happened to your parents. He'd never seen you text them or call them, and you certainly hadn't met up with them. It was during your lunch date that he'd appeared, ready to tease the fuck out of you, when he heard Rhys ask if he could 'ask you a more personal question'. He stayed quiet, standing behind you and listening to your response. When you said yes he was surprised--why were you letting this kid you just met ask you a personal question? He assumed you had your motives, though.

He thought about interjecting, telling you that letting this kid ask a personal question was a bad idea. That's when Rhys spoke, asking about your parents. When you finished his sentence with the word 'dead', Jack didn't know what to do. Jesus, your parents were dead? It all made sense to him now. The way you'd do things on your own, usually opting to not talk to anyone you don't have to. 

He stood behind you at that moment, his eyes wide, and his eyebrows softening. What had happened to your parents? Of course, he wasn't going to ask right now, though he was still curious.

There was nothing more that he wanted to do right at that moment than reach out and hug you. And when you stated that it was too much? And your hands started shaking? God, he wanted to deck the asshole sitting across from you, and take you away from him. He hated that the form he was in was this limiting. He couldn't do jack shit. (Heh, Jack shit.) 

Watching the two of you walk back to your dorm in silence only frustrated him more. He made sure to stay behind the two of you, not wanting to stir up your emotions even more than they had been prior. He knew what he was feeling was jealousy. It pissed him off to no end to see another guy walking you back to your dorm, after just upsetting you to the point of tears.

Fuck, he hated feeling like that.

He knew he'd gotten stuck with you, and he knew that getting physical with you had been a mistake. He didn't fall in love, or even like women. Nope. Handsome Jack does _not_ fall in love. He didn't have time. 

Plus, you were a college student. There was no way it could work out anyways. 

...Yet he still wanted to reassure you. He wanted to hug you, and maybe crack a joke to lighten the tension. 

He hated that he felt that way.

➸

You'd been laying on your couch for some time now, mindlessly binging your favorite TV series. Jack had been quiet since this morning. You found it odd that he hadn't intervened with your date, or asked questions about it once you were alone.

**"Hey kid."**

Speak of the devil. 

"Hm?" You hummed, still paying attention to the TV.

 **"Your parents--"** He started, materializing next to you.

God, why did he want to talk about them too? Could everyone just leave you alone? Crying once had been enough, you didn't want to do it again.

"They're gone. Why are you asking? Do you wanna upset me more than Rhys did?" You barked, furrowing your brows at him.

Seeing him sitting on the other end of the couch just pissed you off. Just who did he think he was?

For the first time, Jack didn't say anything back. No sarcastic response, no joke, no nothing. He just sat there, watching you yell at him.

"I don't fucking understand it. Why the fuck does it matter? Can't you just-" You cut yourself off, sniffling,"-Just leave me alone?"

You wiped under your eyes with your blanket, knowing you'd started crying. Your gaze broke off from his, absentmindedly landing on your hands. You awkwardly played with your fingers, still sniffling.

**"I'm sorry."**

You looked up, ready to ask him just what he was sorry for, but he was gone. Nowhere to be found. Before you had the chance to call out his name, and ask him why he wanted to know about your parents, your phone began to ring. You took in a deep breath, steadying your voice and thoughts before picking up the phone. 

"Hello?"

_"Hi! This is a Hyperion employee that's currently stationed in the building you've been returning to for the part time work. Could you please come in within the next thirty minutes?"_

...Were they fucking serious. 

"Um...I guess so. What for?" You asked curiously.

 _"Great, thanks! Bye!"_ They hung up.

Fucking Hyperion employees. 

➸

You let out a huff as you walked into the room you'd been going to for your part time work, pulling your hoodie sleeves down over your hands. Jesus it was cold in this building.

Jack had appeared next to you when you entered the building, though he didn't say a word. He just curiously looked around, and occasionally made a screwed-up face when he spotted something he wasn't too fond of. The first thing being the statue of Vasquez that was in the lobby. You had to admit, that made you chuckle. 

"Ah! (y/n) (l/n)!" You heard from your left, a young man dressed in a black suit approaching you.

You gave a polite smile,"That's me."

He reached forward to shake your hand, making quite possibly the most awkward eye contact you'd ever had with someone.

"Thanks so much for coming. We just had a couple quick questions for you." He smiled, motioning for you to follow him.

You followed him without question, though you certainly were curious about what questions he had for you. After following him for a minute, and noting that Jack was looking around as if this was a trap, you made it to his desk, taking one of the seats.

"So," He started, adjusting his tie,"After running the flash drives through a computer, we've found that some of them contain things that had to do with a uh...a very classified situation having to deal with Hyperion."

...What the hell was he getting at? Was he crazy?

"Okay?" You raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he was going to ask you. 

**"It's probably about me, dum dum."** Jack sat on the desk, joking with you.

Those were the first words he'd said since earlier in your dorm, though you were thankful that he was easing the tension. 

"Throughout any of the flash drives you were given, did the name 'Handsome Jack' pop up anywhere?" He asked.

Either this guy was extremely smart, or extremely dumb. 

"Considering the whole company of Hyperion was run by him, his name did appear multiple times, yes." You raised a brow, crossing your arms.

Jack laughed from his spot on the desk, bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Oh. Right." The young man coughed, trying again,"Anything unusual about him?"

You paused for a moment, thinking. If you told this man right now that there was a holographic version of Handsome Jack in your head, you'd probably be deemed crazy, or have your head split open by a money hungry corporation. Neither of those sounded like good things.

"Not really." You shook your head.

Jack's laughing paused, and he looked over at you. You knew he'd be upset with you for not telling them that he was inside of your head, but you hadn't said anything for multiple reasons. 

"Alright," The man breathed, motioning for you to make it to the nearest exit,"Thanks anyway."

"Mhm." You hummed, walking out of the building as fast as you could. 

Once you got out onto the street, Jack started his bitching.

 **"Are you serious? I mean jesus, I was being nice because of what I asked earlier, but come the fuck on!"** He yelled from beside you.

"Stop whining. They'll think i'm crazy if I tell them, or split my head open and look for you. I'm not telling them." You stated.

 **"Oh, boo fucking hoo."** He started, crossing his arms, **"Who fucking cares? As long as I get back on top, Hyperion is unstoppable. I'm sure they won't mind losing one little girl to save the company."**

Did he just suggest that you didn't matter? 

"Are you fucking serious?!" You yelled, turning to look at him.

Tears stung your eyes as you yelled, throwing your hands out to the side. What a fucking prick. 

**"Oh, i'm serious. They're not gonna miss you if i'm back up top."** He sneered.

The rage that you felt at the moment was enough to make you want to strangle him.

"FUCK YOU!" You screamed, taking off toward your dorm.

You heard him calling after you, his voice bouncing throughout your head, but you ignored him, running as fast as you could with tears in your eyes.

You slammed the door to your dorm once you got inside, immediately making your way to your room, and slamming that door too. The next moments were a blur, Jack's voice in your head, you slamming your body into your bed, and forcefully closing your eyes.

This had to be a bad dream. There was no way he had actually said those things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo i'm sorry for the angst in this one, i need it for the plot ;-; i promise the next chapter will be better


	8. Jealousy, But 10X Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys asks you if you want to go out for coffee again, and while you tell him that you're not really up for it, he suggests other plans.

You hadn't slept well at all. Every time you tried to drift off to sleep, you'd hear his words again. Those stupid, hurtful words had been bouncing throughout your head. You knew he was aware that you were thinking about it, though you didn't expect him to feel bad for you. No, that's just not the kind of person he was.

_"Nobody would miss you."_

Was that true? Your parents weren't here to care for you anymore, and you had no close friends. Well, maybe Zane. Or Rhys? What did he think of you after the coffee date the two of you had the day prior? 

Thinking about everything at once was too much. You clenched your fists, ready to cry, when your phone rang.

Your eyes opened immediately, taking in your surroundings for a few moments. You'd fallen asleep on your bed, curled up with your blankets. Makeup stained your pillow from where you'd been crying the night prior. You'd have to wash that soon. Picking up your phone you took a deep breath, a small smile forming on your face as Rhys's name popped up on your screen. You couldn't help but feel a tad bit worried as you answered.

"Hello?"

_"Hey! You sound tired...wait, did I wake you up?"_

"Yeah," You quietly chuckled, sniffling.

_"It's noon, (y/n). I guess you were really tired, huh?"_ You could hear that goofy smile through the phone.

You looked over at your bedside clock, rubbing your eyes,"...Yeah. Just really tired."

_"...Do you wanna go get coffee again?"_ He asked timidly.

Your heart melted at the offer, yet you couldn't bring yourself to say yes. You didn't feel like getting out of your bed at all. 

"Rhys, i'd love to, but i'm honestly feeling a little under the weather," You spoke honestly.

Hey, you weren't lying! As long as he didn't ask why, you hadn't lied to him.

There was a long pause, then an excited exhale, _"I could come over and help you feel better, if you'd like,"_

There wasn't any hint of a suggestive tone in his voice. Dear god he really was innocent. 

"And how would you help me feel better?" You asked curiously.

_"Oh come onnn, won't seeing me make you feel better?"_ He chuckled.

You nodded to yourself, stretching before answering him.

"...Yeah, probably." You smiled.

_"Great! See you in ten,"_ He laughed before hanging up quickly, presumably to get ready.

Ten minutes? Oh goodness, that'd only give you enough time to wash your pillow case and maybe eat some breakfast--err--lunch. 

You got out of your bed slowly, taking your time and reassuring yourself that hanging out with Rhys would make you feel better. You quickly made your way to your laundry room, throwing your pillow case in the washer and darting toward the kitchen. What to eat?

...You didn't really have any food, you hadn't been shopping off campus for a while (and there was no way you were eating whatever they gave out). You sighed, making a mental note to go get food sometime today. 

You'd half expected Jack to make an appearance, maybe scare you or make fun of you, but he never appeared. Not once. 

Good. You didn't feel like talking to him anyway.

You made your way out of your kitchen (no matter how small it may be, it's still a kitchen!), about to head to your room, before you heard three knocks on your door. You sighed, walking to the door and opening it. 

There stood Rhys, a bright smile on his face, and a couple of grocery bags in his hands. What did he have..?

"...Nice outfit," He joked.

Oh, crap, what did you have on? You looked down, remembering that you'd went to bed in a spare pair of shorts you had, and an oversized hoodie. You shrugged, inviting him in.

"What's in the bags?" You asked, closing the door behind him as he walked in. 

He walked over to your couch, sitting down and motioning for you to join him. You complied, sitting next to him and watching him pick the bags up. He opened one of them, showing you the contents.

"I got you some stuff! I didn't really know how else to make you feel better..." He nervously laughed, bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his neck. 

Inside the bags were various kinds of chocolates, some drinks, and the last bag had a small stuffed bear in it. You held it up, letting out an audible 'awww!' and hugged it tightly.

"He's for you to hug on when you don't feel good! Um, if you don't already have someone," He added.

Was he referring to himself? Or was he wondering if you were seeing someone already? 

You shook your head,"He's perfect. Thank you so much, Rhys," 

Rhys gave a small nod, a smile spreading across his face. He was worried the gifts might've come off as too strong, but in the end, it worked out. He looked you over, finding it adorable that you were wearing a huge hoodie. Once he got to your face, he was concerned, though. It looked like you had been crying. A lot.

"...(y/n)?" He questioned, setting the bags of gifts on the floor.

You looked up at him, shivering from the seriousness in his gaze. 

"Hm?"

He paused for a moment, bringing one of his arms up to gently grab your shoulder,"...Were you crying?"

Oh. Oops. Caught.

Should you tell him? There was a slight chance he'd believe you about Jack, but then again, what if he didn't? Would he think you were crazy?

"I was, but it's fine now," You whispered.

He brought himself closer to you, his eyes scanning your face,"Why were you crying? Who hurt you?" He asked gently.

You shook your head,"...Just some stupid guy. He told me..." You paused, Jack's words echoing throughout your head.

"He told you what?"

"...Nobody would miss me." You sighed.

You could see anger flash through Rhys's eyes, maybe even a bit of possessiveness. His face moved closer to yours, your noses touching. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

"Don't believe that. I know for a fact that I would miss you." He whispered, locking his gaze with yours.

Should you kiss him? What would he do? 

So many thoughts were racing through your head, and just as you were about to lean in and kiss him, he pulled back, his cheeks flushing. 

"Just...that's bullshit." He said.

You took a moment to collect yourself, slowly nodding your head. Jack's words were bullshit. You knew that Rhys would miss you, Jack was just being an ass. He probably just wanted to piss you off, make you want to get him out of your head.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" Rhys spoke softly next to you, his eyes watching the way you deeply sighed.

Who was the asshole that told you that? Oh, he'd beat the shit out of them if you told him who. Sure, maybe he wasn't the strongest, but...he could try.

"Okay." You whispered.

Rhys stood up first, holding a hand out to you. You gratefully took his hand, leading him to your room. While you grabbed your pack of makeup wipes, he sat on your bed, quietly watching you. For some reason, you wanted him to wipe off the dried tears. Why, you weren't sure. Probably because you needed some damn form of comfort. You walked over to him, raising a brow and holding the wipe out to him in question. 

He took it, confused for a moment, before you sat down on the bed next to him, leaning closer to his hand. He finally got it, the doofus he is, slowly bringing the makeup wipe up to your face, gently wiping off under your eyes. 

You couldn't help but crack a small smile as he gently wiped the dried makeup off, his face full of concern. This boy really cared about you. 

➸ 

After a long while Rhys was done, giving you a goofy thumbs up and a smile, before throwing the wipe away, and walking back to your couch with you.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to go get coffee again, but...i'd rather just stay here with you instead," He admitted, walking over to the couch and taking a seat. You took a second to look him over, his plain black hoodie complimenting his ECHOeye, as well as the beautiful yellow color of his arm. 

"We can watch a movie?" You suggested, sitting down next to him, turning to him for an answer. 

After receiving a quick nod from him you grabbed a nearby blanket, and turned on your TV. While browsing for movies you noticed Rhys glancing at your Hyperion propaganda posters that had been scarcely strung throughout your dorm. 

"...You're a big Hyperion person, huh?" He asked. 

You shrugged,"Not really. My moms worked for Hyperion, and now that they're gone, it's...one of the few things I have left that reminds me of them." You admitted.

"Oh." He whispered, his gaze landing on the Handsome Jack poster,"Big fan? Or um, the same thing?" 

You rolled your eyes at that,"Oh please. If I had to choose between Handsome Jack or a Clap-trap bot running Hyperion, i'd choose the bot." 

Rhys laughed at that, closing his eyes for just a moment. You noted that he had such long, pretty eyelashes.

"You gotta admit though, he's pretty cool," He tried, turning toward you.

**"Yeah, cupcake. I am pretty cool."** You heard from behind you, his voice giving you goosebumps.

You hesitated for a moment before speaking, deciding to be brutally honest even if it hurt Jack's feelings,"...Nope. Some mildly attractive guy who's full of himself and killed almost the whole population of Pandora? Not that cool,"

Rhys was quiet for a moment, raising a brow,"...When you put it like that, yeah, he's not that cool."

**"Oh, fuck the both of you."** Jack sneered from behind you, eyeing Rhys.

➸ 

You'd finally settled on a movie, laying the blanket on top of both you and Rhys. Somewhere along the way Rhys had put his arm around you (no, not the classic stretch and yawn), and you found that you had no problem with it. If anything, it made you more sleepy. 

Jack had been watching the both of you the whole time, a scowl on his face. Sure, he'd just been a dick to you, but didn't he make it clear that he _hated_ seeing you with anyone else? Why the hell couldn't you respect that?

**"Sooo about our little talk, ya know, when I said I didn't like seeing you with other guys?"** He mused, walking in front of you. 

You held your breath, snuggling closer to Rhys and squeezing your eyes shut. You couldn't look him in the face right now. You didn't even want to talk to him. 

"Is everything alright?" Rhys asked, looking down at you in concern.

Oh, shit. Now he knew something was up. 

**"Yeah, cupcake, is everything alright?"** He mocked.

"I'm alright," You responded, looking up at Rhys,"I just...you're warm, and I'm cold," You tried, snuggling even closer to him.

**"Oh my _god_ if I see you scoot closer to him one more time-"**

"Rhys?"

"Hm?"

Then you leaned forward to kiss him, bringing your face up to his. Jack only let out a noise of disgust, his fists clenching in anger as he watched you kiss Rhys. That should be him, goddamn it. 

You ignored Jack, and sure, you kissed Rhys to get under his skin, but you were genuinely enjoying this kiss.

You brought your arms up and wrapped them around Rhys, embracing him just before breaking the kiss.

The both of you were breathing heavy, Rhys's heart practically pounding out of his chest. 

"...Wow." He whispered, unsure of what else to say.

You let out a quiet giggle, looking up at him once more.

"Thanks for coming over today. It really means a lot," You smiled.

He only nodded his head, his cheeks and neck flushed pink. You thought he looked adorable flushed like this. Like the reddest, ripest strawberry ready for picking. 

➸ 

Your head was on his chest now, his heart beating slow enough to lull you into a peaceful sleep. You weren't sure why you felt so safe with him, so secure. Maybe because he was someone that you felt could protect you from Jack. Maybe because you really liked the kid. You settled on the option that it might be both of them, before hugging him tightly, and falling asleep. 

The two of you slept soundly, Rhys waking up only briefly in the middle of the night to make sure you were alright, and gently run his hand across your back. You made the cutest noises in your sleep, and though you didn't know it, a small smile had spread across your face as he gently rubbed your back. 

Though he'd only just met you, he hoped things could be like this for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am soo sorry this took forever to get out. my work schedule has been fucking crazy for no reason lol, but enjoy this chapter !! <3


	9. Love Buddies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up and Rhys is gone, which obviously worries you. It doesn't really help that Jack is making you feel even worse, though.

**"Hey, cupcake. Wake up."** A harsh voice woke you from your peaceful slumber, your eyes immediately darting open at the sound of his voice.

You blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust to the amount of light that was currently hitting your eyes. Jack sat on the floor in front of you, his gaze menacing and unfriendly. You looked to your right for Rhys, only he wasn't there. Where was he? Had he left before you woke up? 

Did you mess things up by kissing him last night?

God, too much to think about.

**"Your little buddy's gone, cupcake,"** He chuckled, raising an eyebrow in interest.

You bit your lip anxiously,"No shit, Jack."

After making your remark towards said holographic asshole you scrambled to grab your phone, scrolling through your contacts to find Rhys. You tried calling him, sitting there anxiously as you listened to the dull ring over and over again.

He didn't pick up.

You opted on texting him a simple, _'Where'd you go? :('_

**"Looks like you fucked up big time, huh?"** Jack mocked, standing up to look down at you. 

The amount of anxiety building in your body at the moment was astronomical, Jack's smart ass remarks obviously not helping at all. You wanted to cry, to punch something, to be held by someone. Now was when you wished your parents were still with you. It'd be so much easier if you had them to call.

"Jack, I am _sick and tired_ of your smart ass remarks! Will you just fucking go away or something?" You blurted, standing up and clenching your fists.

Jack looked shocked at first, those beautiful eyes of his staring at you in surprise. Within a mere few seconds he began to smile, chuckling quietly. What was wrong with him? Why was he being such an ass?

**"Noo no, not now! It's getting interesting now! Your little love-buddy just ran off without a word! No way i'd miss this cupcake,"** He sneered, crossing his arms.

What gave him the right to make you feel like this? To call Rhys such a mocking name? 

"Jack, I--" You began, tearing up,"Leave me alone! I didn't ask to be stuck with you, and no offense, but all you've made me want to do is cry! What the fuck is wrong with you?" You yelled, not caring if anyone outside of your dorm could hear you. 

He raised his eyebrows in amusement, only laughing more, **"Oh, really? That's interesting, considering I uh, ya know, had you cumming over my fingers like...what was it, yesterday?"**

Your cheeks flushed at his comment, though you were still pissed.

"You took advantage of the fact that I was upset. Don't pull that card on me. You're just being pissy because I spent time with Rhys!" You spat.

**"Mmm, maybe. What happened to our little talk, huh?"**

"I'm not yours to control, Jack. I can hang out with whoever I want to. Fuck. You." You exaggerated your last two words, stepping closer to him.

**"Mm, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"** He chuckled, looking down at you.

Your cheeks flushed even more, the rush of anger swiftly being washed out by a raging typhoon of arousal. How was this fair? You were supposed to be mad at him, yet here you were, unable to say anything under his gaze, his hand slowly coming up to your head, resting just beside the port in your temple.

It wasn't that you hated the fact that he was switching your emotions faster than you could process, or even the fact that he was using your own frustration as something against you. You hated how vulnerable you were to him, how eager you were to hear that deep voice of his spout nonsense into your ear, to feel those warm fingers of his trailing up and down your sides. 

To put it plainly--it was unbelievably unfair how hot this man was.

"Jack, i'm not fucking around," You tried, your voice coming out as shrill and weak, your gaze meeting his.

**"I'm not either, cupcake."** He slowly spoke, his finger coming in contact with the port on your temple. 

It didn't hurt like it had prior, instead it felt...pleasant? Relieving? Was this your body getting used to Jack's touch? Or even worse, craving Jack's touch?

You couldn't help but melt into his hand as he brought it up to your cheek, his gaze locked on yours. Looking at him like this only reminded you of what happened last time he'd touched your port. What you'd give for him to do that again...

**"Aww how cute, I haven't even done anything to you yet and you're suuuper horny! Ha!"** He chuckled, the condescending asshole he is, bringing one hand up to run through his hair. 

The feel of his soft hair ghosted along your fingertips, and suddenly you wanted that to be your hand in his hair instead of his own. You took it upon yourself to bring your hand up, gently running it through his soft locks. It was then when you directly locked gazes with him on purpose, craving the sight of those heterochromatic eyes, the power held in them. You melted under his gaze alone, your cheeks flushing as he winked at you like the cocky bastard he is.

**"Ya know I gotta tell you cupcake, you're adorable when you blush like that,"** He teased, gently resting his thumb on top of your lips.

Ignoring the condescending yet flirtatious comment he made, you took it upon yourself to open your mouth, gently sucking on his thumb. If he was going to tease you, then you could tease right back. 

Sure, you were still a virgin, and yeah, you weren't exactly hooking up with guys every week, but you'd be damned if you weren't good at playing the exact game Jack was trying to play. 

You sucked on his finger harder, swirling your tongue around the pad of his finger, before making a soft whine.

**"Ohh you little minx,"** He sneered, reaching for the hem of his pants. 

Wait--what was he about to pull out? Did holographic Handsome Jack have a dick? Like, was it programmed or something? And if so, who programmed it, and why?

**"Hey dum dum, I can still hear what you're thinking."**

Oh, oops. Caught.

**"...I dunno if I have a dick. Ha, that sounds weird, doesn't it? Like, I just don't know if I have a cock or not? Ha!"** He laughed at himself.

You stared at him unmoving, obviously not finding his cock jokes funny.

**"I don't think I do, though. I mean, I kinda hope not, cause if so, that means that weird ass scientist had to write code for my dick, and just thinking about it is...eugh-"** He sighed, fake throwing up.

He really was a five year old at heart, huh? 

"Jack if you don't stop fucking around and do something to me I swear to god," You huffed, crossing your arms.

**"Whaaat? You don't wanna get railed by holographic me?"** He smirked.

"...I'm not losing my virginity to a hologram." 

**"You WHAT?"** He laughed, bringing one hand up to wipe a tear from his eye.

"...You heard me asshole. If we ever find a way to...bring you back or whatever, it can happen then..." You spoke quietly, unsure of your words.

**"Aww, really? You'd let me rail you? I bet you'd make the cutest noises,"** He teased.

You felt yourself flush, crossing your arms and looking away from him. Something about his praise...sent a shock of arousal through you.

**"Ohh you like that, don't you?"** He observed.

You said nothing, your face only growing a brighter shade of red. He moved swiftly, spreading your legs and sliding his thigh in between them. You turned to face him once more, your cheeks burning with arousal and embarrassment. Were you really about to let this happen again? Would he hold this against you at any point in the future? Shouldn't you be mad at him for what he'd said to you?

**"Jesus, do you overthink like this on the daily?"** He tilted his head, his hands coming to rest on your thighs.

You shrugged, taking a moment to think about his question.

"Uhh...yes?" You questioned yourself.

Jack only shook his head and chuckled, his gaze growing more predator like.

**"Don't worry, cupcake. We can fix that..."** He started, his fingers swiftly unbuttoning your pants, and sliding them down your legs. 

After a couple of awkward moments of you trying to kick your pants off, Jack advanced, bringing two fingers down to your still clothed sex, harshly rubbing circles against your bud.

Goodness, was he always this aggressive? If you ever really _did_ bring him back somehow, you'd have to work on that. Handsome Jack or not, he needed to work on his pleasuring skills.

**"...Can stiiiill hear what you're thinkin'..."** He pulled his hand back, leaving you a whimpering mess.

"No no, Jack, please," You tried, making grabby hands toward him, sticking out your bottom lip just to pout _that much more._

**"Nuh uh."**

Now you were going to have to go _full_ bratty mode on him, huh? You put on your best pouty face, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Please Jack?" You even batted your eyelashes for some bonus points,"I want you to touch me so bad,"

Though you were going full pouty mode, you weren't really lying. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want Handsome Jack touching them? 

**"Doesn't sound too sincere to me, cupcake,"** He teased, crossing his arms.

That's when you decided to grab his shoulders and lock eyes with him, leaning forward so far that your noses were touching. You observed him for just a moment, his face washed over with genuine shock. He, on the other hand, was observing you. Your face was a flushed mess, and your hair was already fucked up, and the two of you had hardly done anything. He found it amusing how easy it was to make you horny. 

"Please," You breathed, lifting your eyebrows in a pleading way, genuinely asking him to resume his antics.

He said nothing, only pushing your panties down as far as they'd go, and inserting one finger into you, all within a few moments. Okay...wow. Maybe you needed to retract that thought from earlier, he was fine pleasing women on his own. 

You closed your eyes and whimpered, the grasp you had on his shoulders only growing tighter every passing moment. For some reason, he couldn't stop looking at you. Even as he plunged another finger into you, your whimpers and whines were pleasing to him, as well as the blush spreading down your neck. Before he could come up with some stupid scenario about love in his mind he shook his head.

_Handsome Jack does not fall in love._

...Iiiiis what he told himself. Was he lying to himself? Probably. But did that stop him from finger fucking you the fastest he possibly could? Absolutely not.

You moaned out, clutching his shoulders, throwing your head against his chest. You weren't even having sex with him and he was making you feel this good. Jesus. Nothing could ruin this moment. Nothi-

_RRRRING, RRRRING_

Goddamnit, someone was trying to call you. You opted on ignoring it, your phone laying on the couch to your right. You had more...important things to pay attention to right now.

Jack, however, decided to look down, seeing a certain brown-haired prick's name pop up on your screen. Rhys was calling you. Ohhh, this was perfect.

**"Aww, your lover boy's calling you pumpkin! Why don't you answer?"** He raised a brow.

Through your hazy state of ecstasy you shook your head,"N-No, Jack- _ahh fuck right there!_ -Right now? I don't want him t-to- _ohhh fuck yes-_ to hear me," You breathed.

**"Answer it, cupcake."** Jack spoke, a command rather than a request.

You didn't really have time to interject as he picked up the phone, answered it, and put it on speaker. Oh god. Oh no.

_"Hey! Do you have time to talk right now?"_ Rhys asked through the phone.

...Not really.

"Of course," You swallowed, trying to keep your composure.

You knew Jack was doing this just to get back at you for hanging out with Rhys...and probably kissing him too.

_"Sweet. Sorry I left your place so early this morning, my friend Vaughn called and needed help with something. Aaand that's also why I didn't text you back or anything, I was trying to help him, and--[Y/N]? Why are you breathing so hard, are you okay?"_

Oh no. OH NO.

"I'm fine Rhys, I just--haaah--I just came back in from running," You tried, glaring at Jack as he sped up his pace.

He had the biggest smirk on his face right now, the asshole curling his fingers to hit your g-spot.

_"Um...you run?"_ He asked.

Goddamnit Rhys, take the hint and hang up!

**"You do now,"** Jack chuckled.

"...Yeah! I jus'started," You spoke, your words slurring together.

_"Ohh okay...maybe we can go running together!"_ Oh, Rhys. He was so innocent.

"Yeah, sure, look _igottagobye!_ " You snatched the phone, hanging it up only seconds before coming undone around Jack's fingers.

And while you were left to deal with Jack and cleaning yourself up, Rhys was left with...a boner. Why? He wasn't sure.

He wasn't even sure what you had to hang the phone up so urgently for, all he knew was that the way you were heavily breathing sounded so nice, and the way you were panting made him want to see you at the moment.

He shook his head and pondered on what you were actually doing. Had you really just come back in from a run? Or were you on the phone with him while...no. You wouldn't do that. At least, he hoped you wouldn't, because he really enjoyed spending time with you. 

And as much as you liked spending time with him, Jack hated it. Which had just been made evident.

"That was a dick move, Jack." You glared at him.

He shrugged, **"You can't seriously look at me and tell me that was not _the_ hottest thing you've ever done."**

Your face flushed as you looked away, crossing your arms,"...Whatever. I really like Rhys, and now he probably doesn't wanna see me."

**"Wouldn't be a problem with me,"**

"Oh shut up, you jealous little asshole!"

**"I am NOT jealous!"**

...Aaaand so began your headache for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am genuinely soo sorry this chapter took so long. i've been out of the loop on writing smut for a while, so sorry if this is sucky ! the next chapter is about to get real juicy though >:)


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